(Screenshot: RNZ AM)

The New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said misinformation and disinformation are the biggest national security concerns in the country.

She said the planned merger of public broadcasters Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand would address this problem, Newshub reports. The merger is due to take place by the middle of 2023.

“People want to have trusted places they can access information,” Ms Ardern said in an interview on RNZ.

“Our journalists have a role to play in that, and that’s exactly why we’re making sure our public broadcasters in this environment can survive.”

She floated the possibility that the government-funded RNZ could collapse if the government did not move forward with the public media merger.

“If we want to make sure that we are supporting New Zealanders through this rough period, getting rid of our public service broadcasters or having Radio New Zealand collapse doesn’t help them and it actually doesn’t help New Zealand.”