Kua rewa a Tārake!

Kapokapo kau te whetū tārake i runga Hei taki atu i te ara o te rangi Mātaihia te pō, mātaihia te ao Maiangi tū, maiangi ora, maiangi Tārake! Welcome to Tārake, the bilingual platform with Māori news from a Māori view. It's great to have you here. Tārake is a flax roots news platform aimed at showcasing the positive and meaningful things taking place in Indigenous communities. The name Tārake recalls old newspapers read by our tīpuna, like Te Paki o Matariki, Te Whetū o Te Tau and Korimako. A lone star offering a place to quietly stay in the loop. The content of Tārake is curated, in part, by you because you're going to write it. Whether you're a budding journalist building a portfolio, a local community leader sharing events or a member of your marae sports team covering the wins, this is your place to give positive Māori journalism a crack. Tārake is not a replacement or competitor for established media outlets. Instead, it solves a problem where so much of the valid content produced in those places is unfortunately, overtly stressful and negative. There, te ao Māori news is really news about other people: disappointing things happening to Māori. Tārake clings to the positive and uplifting news often missed. These days, media outlets are also becoming more social media centered. Māori stories are caught up in rage baiting and the anti-Māori social media circle. Reading those stories on social media platforms draws us to the comments section; closer to the unkindness. Tārake might draw a story from social media on occasion, but it does not carry a social media presence and it does not invite commentary. That's deliberate. Tārake wants to be a safe haven - it is trying to draw you away from social media, to read in rest. You'll find two kinds of stories here. Short stories of around 300 words are generated by AI. Long form pieces of up to 1000 words are written by you, the reader. You'll notice some usual news categories aren't here, but some new ones, like Māori leadership, are here. This is the angle of story Tārake wants to present to you. Tārake acknowledges the risks of using AI to generate content, especially about Indigenous people. It's important to know the content generated by AI here is already available on the internet elsewhere. It also acknowledges the risks of storing data offshore, and this is an issue the platform will aim to fix as we gain momentum. No AI translation service is used by the platform. All translations are completed by a human, certified translator. Tārake has a staunch kaupapa Māori editorial policy. The platform won't tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, hate speech or misinformation. This policy is important as we enter a period of journalism without any independent standard to adhere to. The platform reserves the right to reject stories and eject account holders accordingly without further explanation. If you enjoy Tārake, the content and the fresh perspective, why not support the kaupapa? The Tautoko - Support button above offers a chance to koha, for which Tārake is eternally grateful. The platform is also open for advertising. Heoi anō mō tēnei wā, Dr Vincent Olsen-Reeder Kaietita kiaora@tarake.maori.nz