Tired of royal family, coronation gossip? Maori artist's plugin replaces it with indigenous news

For many, particularly the English conservatives and those in the erstwhile British colonies nursing a hangover, the British monarchy is a source of pride, and its opulence awes rather than repels. For others of more liberal disposition and a leaning more towards the left, it is a dinosaur, an institution that has no place in the modern world prevalent with concepts like democracy and equality. While opinions as to the nature of monarchy as it stands may differ, there is no denying the ample evidence of its dark past, its role in slavery and its treatment of indigenous populations around the world.

As King Charles III prepares for his impending coronation, the question as to whether there is a need for monarchy, even the constitutional kind, in this day and age is on many minds. King Charles III or the current British monarch remains the head of state in New Zealand, and even in that country, the press carries a lot of gossip and stories about the British royals.

Those opposed to the idea of monarchy and not wanting to do anything at all with the royals, a Māori artist from New Zealand's has a solution. 

As per the Guardian, the artist, called Hāmiora Bailey, has created a web browser plugin that replaces all news about the royals and coronation with news about indigenous communities. 

Also Read: King Charles should apologise for British colonialism and racism, Indigenous leaders demand

"People are sick of it – they don’t care about how much a diamond costs and who’s wearing what dress. Across the globe, Indigenous folk are tired of [this] rhetoric around frivolity and class," Bailey said. 

The plugin is free to download. As per the official description in Chrome's webstore, it "replaces royal gossip with indigenous news. Irritating royal gossip is smeared all over the internet. Thanks to the coronation, this has reached a whole new level of unbearable. For indigenous people, royal news is more than just annoying. That’s why Tangata Whenua have created Pīkari Mai, a plugin designed to shut up the headline-hungry royal family. Pīkari Mai rids the internet of royal articles by replacing them with the latest Māori news drawn from a range of local media publishers. Honouring Kaituhi Māori (indigenous writers) by prioritising news stories written by, for and about indigenous people."

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