Trolls flood New Zealand national flag crowdsourcing scheme with Microsoft Paint Kiwi drawings

By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

May 19, 2015 | 3 min read

New Zealand has received hundreds of confounding flag design entries as part of a national initiative to replace the New Zealand Blue Ensign flag.

The nation is keen to update its image which currently features a remnant of its colonial heritage in the form of a Union Jack. As a result, the official Flag Consideration Project has been opened to the publiC, with New Zealanders afforded the opportunity to select the next national symbol.

However, as always, when opening such a platform up to the public - on the internet - trolls with weird and wonderful designs tried their hand at winning the competition.

Below are some of the more confounding designs submitted to the replace the national flag adopted in 1902. Entries include a surprising quantity of kiwis, rainbows, and laser beams…