Disinformation researchers say those creating and spreading harmful lies online mostly fled as the scene turned into a riot.

But the people who'd consumed that disinformation -- those who had been rarked up -- remained for a fight.

The government is concerned about foreign influences behind that disinformation.

The Disinformation Project says some of it has been repackaged from the United States, such as the false blame assigned to antifa.

And it says the second most-dominant type of disinformation being spread among the protester groups relates to Russia's war on the Ukraine -- and some of that appears to have been created by Putin's propaganda machine.

Tina Ngata - an academic and activist who has worked on the disinformation project - spoke to Māni Dunlop.