[Diggers350] Jordan van den Berg: The 'Robin Hood' TikTok'er taking on Australian landlords

Fri Apr 26 22:36:40 BST 2024

Jordan van den Berg: The 'Robin Hood' TikToker taking on Australian landlords

    * https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-68758681
    * 5 days ago
Jordan van den Berg
Image source, Jordan van den Berg
Image caption,
Jordan van den Berg's advocacy started as a joke on TikTok
By Tiffanie Turnbull
BBC News, Sydney

Three years ago, lawyer Jordan van den Berg was 
an obscure TikTok creator who made videos that mocked real estate agents.

But today the 28-year-old is one of the most 
high-profile activists in Australia.

Posting under the moniker Purple Pingers, Mr van 
den Berg has been taking on the nation's housing 
crisis by highlighting shocking renting 
conditions, poor behaviour from landlords, and 
what he calls government failures.

It is his vigilante-style approach - which 
includes helping people find vacant homes to 
squat in, and exposing bad rentals in a public 
database - that has won over a legion of fans.

Some have dubbed him the Robin Hood of renters.

But Mr van den Berg's unorthodox methods have 
also brought him enemies and stirred controversy 
in Australia, and now abroad too.

Rental woes rampant

It's no question that housing in Australia is in 
crisis. Experts say almost everything has gone wrong.

Buying a home is astronomically expensive, 
overwhelming a rental market already in shortage, 
and there is nowhere near enough public housing to fill the gaps.

The crunch has sent rents to record highs and 
vacancy rates to record lows, forcing many 
Australians into insecure, unaffordable, 
overcrowded or unsafe housing - or homelessness.
    * 
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-67723760>The 
year the Australian Dream died

Bearing the worst of the crisis are the young and 
the vulnerable. Mr van den Berg sums up the situation with an expletive.

He adds: "We had old people, who benefitted from

really, really generous housing policy, pull the 
ladder up behind them, and then leave young 
people to just figure it out on their own."

Mr van den Berg is now a homeowner himself - he's 
quick to acknowledge he's from a privileged 
background - but says he also knows what it's like to be a renter.

"Seeing the way that in Australia vulnerable 
people were being treated
 really pissed me off," 
he tells the BBC from Melbourne.

And so he began making fun of real estate agents 
online. Posting to his Purple Pingers accounts - 
a username referencing ecstasy pills that he 
chose as a high schooler and now regrets 
"immensely" - Mr van den Berg offered deadpan 
impersonations, sarcastic reviews of the kinds of 
homes available for rent nationally, and even songs.

His TikToks - often intentionally cringeworthy 
and spoken into a tiny mic clipped to random 
objects - were a hit. He was soon inundated with 
messages from people with similar experiences and 
began telling their stories too.

But there were so many that he couldn't keep up.

"I thought it wasn't right that some white dude 
on the internet is the one that should be telling 
everyone's stories
 you should be able to tell 
your own story, no matter who you are, without fear of repercussions."

And thus the "Shit Rentals" database was born. 
Its more than 3000 reviews from anonymous people 
turn up images of exposed electrical wiring, 
disintegrating walls, cracked floors, general 
squalor, and endless mould - plus the occasional mushroom.
A composite image of a mouldy cupboard, a mushroom growing in c
Image source, Supplied
Image caption,
Some of the images uploaded to the database

There are stories about unannounced, illegal 
visits by landlords, racism from real estate 
agents, and countless people claiming to have 
been evicted after asking for essential repairs. 
Many say their property was immediately relisted, 
in the same condition, for more money.

"The [landlord] is a scumlord... Every time we 
asked for a basic repair, his response was that 
we should move out instead," writes one person from Brunswick, Victoria.

Landlords and real estate agents have access to 
so much information about renters, but tenants 
don't get the same level of transparency in 
return, Mr van den Berg says, reasoning that his 
database helps even out the scale.

But this month he has set his sights on landlords 
with vacant homes, arguing they could help ease 
the strain on the rental market.

Australia's most recent population snapshot 
revealed about a million houses were sitting 
empty, many in areas where the housing crisis has 
forced people to live in tents.

It's hard to gauge how long many have been 
sitting vacant and the reasons why - but that 
situation also irked Mr van den Berg: "So I thought I'd make a list."

With the help of his supporters, he's gathering 
addresses from around the nation and encouraging people to squat in them.

Squatting is legal is Australia, but laws 
prohibiting breaking and entering or trespass - 
remaining on private property when instructed to leave - still apply.

"If the government won't do anything about the 
rich hoarding empty homes, make them," he 
captioned a video calling for submissions.

He lists some addresses publicly, but due to 
safety concerns he also gives some to people privately.

And after a big audience response he's now 
expanded the list globally, compiling vacant 
houses in places including the UK, US and Switzerland.

Advocacy polarising

"The Australian response has been overwhelmingly: 
'Hey, yeah, we should do something about this. 
This is not necessarily the right way to do it,' 
which is fair criticism," he says.

"It's generally the wealthy that aren't super jazzed about what I'm doing."

He says he gets called lots of things, but there 
are also legal and physical threats - especially 
since he started his vacant homes list.

It's kicked off a national debate in Australia, 
where he's been accused of encouraging crime - 
something he rejected on national TV while 
wearing a t-shirt reading "good people disobey bad laws".

"He should be charged by police for incitement to 
break and enter," said Sky News Australia host 
James Macpherson, adding that "homeowners have no 
ethical responsibility to homeless people".
Jordan van den Berg appearing on The Project
Image source, Network 10/The Project
Image caption,
Jordan van den Berg made a widely discussed 
appearance on Australia's Network 10 this month

Real estate industry bodies were similarly incensed.

"What determines whether a property is empty, in 
his lofty opinion? Because it has an overgrown 
lawn and no furniture?" Nicola McDougall from 
Property Investment Professionals of Australia told news.com.au.

"There is a plethora of reasons why a home might 
be vacant - including it has been sold or leased 
but the new owners or renters simply haven't moved in yet."

The president of the Australian Landlords 
Association acknowledged housing could be an 
emotional issue, but likened squatting to 
stealing someone's car and taking it for a joy ride.

Another group said vacant properties were "a 
valid concern" but that squatting posed 
"significant legal and safety risks for both 
property owners and potential squatters".

Mr van den Berg's list has also prompted swift backlash in America.

In his mentions online, people have threatened to 
stake out the homes listed and shoot people on 
sight, while others have tagged the FBI. At least 
one user tried to dox him by publishing his 
address, but outed the location of his parcel locker instead.

"It doesn't seem like there is a lot of empathy 
in that country," Mr van den Berg says.

So what, then, does he say to criticism that he's 
tarring people with the same brush, or encouraging vitriol?

He's not concerned: "I'm like: 'Sure, maybe not 
all real estate agents. But most of them'.

"[And] would you rather be homeless or have a 
little bit of vitriol? Like, have a little bit of 
perspective on what we're talking about."

Others say he should focus on achieving policy change.

"If this energy was directed to our MPs and 
senators, maybe there would be sufficient funding 
and resources to resolve public housing 
waitlists," said a spokesperson for the Real Estate Institute of Australia.
A number of tents spotted by the Brisbane River.
Image source, ABC News: Chris Gillett
Image caption,
Many homeless Australians find shelter in tents

Mr van den Berg says he's under no illusion that his approach is not ideal.

"But we've had decades of mismanagement which has 
led to this situation, and while we're focusing 
on policy solutions, what do people do in the meantime?" he says.

"If you don't like what I'm saying
 what's your policy solution?"

He wants to see greater protections for renters 
legislated, reforms to lucrative tax incentives 
for property investors, and a large tax imposed 
on landlords who keep their properties vacant for long stretches.

He says he has had talks with advocacy bodies and 
lawmakers, but most keep a distance from him.

"I get it," he says. "I'm just some idiot on the internet."

But with more than 200,000 followers on social 
media alone, Mr van den Berg says he had no idea 
his advocacy would blow up like this. He is now 
juggling a full-time job with the often "heart-breaking" work.

"I'll get people email me at like 2am saying 
they've just been kicked out of the house
 like 
really, really horrible stories where I genuinely 
can't do anything about it," he says.

"It's really stressful and kind of sad because I 
feel like I have an obligation to people."

"[But] one person can do a fair bit through the power of others," he adds.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/pipermail/diggers350/attachments/20240426/356a8a3b/attachment-0002.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 6d2116c8.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 418186 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/pipermail/diggers350/attachments/20240426/356a8a3b/attachment-0004.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 6d211773.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 228547 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/pipermail/diggers350/attachments/20240426/356a8a3b/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 6d2117b2.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 175129 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/pipermail/diggers350/attachments/20240426/356a8a3b/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 6d2117e0.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 250936 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/pipermail/diggers350/attachments/20240426/356a8a3b/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
Weekly politics show page http://www.thisweek.org.uk
Radio stream live 5pm Fridays and repeated 
11am/pm UK time http://www.talkradio.org.uk
Also on: NOT The BCfm Politics Show App 
https://apkpure.com/not-the-bcfm-politics-show/com.sweetsmile.bottom_navigation_flutter 

NB please reply with any unsubscribe request in 
the email body, leaving the subject line intact, 
if you do not wish to recieve further emails - thanks
And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, 
he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and 
gave to them. 
<http://biblehub.com/luke/24-31.htm>31 And their 
eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he 
vanished out of their sight.  http://biblehub.com/kjv/luke/24.htm
'Capitalism is institutionalised bribery' TG - 
Cancelled -> https://www.youtube.com/user/PublicEnquiry/videos

Albert Pikes 1871 
<https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/650822/Letter-WW3-200-year-old-islam-final-battle>WWIII 
plan to cancel God  
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/11/accelerationism-how-a-fringe-philosophy-predicted-the-future-we-live-in>Accelerationist 
multicrisis: my schoolfriend 
<https://www.philosophyforlife.org/blog/accelerationism-amphetamine-philosophy-and-the-death-trip>Nazi 
Nicks Dark Enlightenment death trip is 
designed to 
<https://qz.com/1007144/the-neo-fascist-philosophy-that-underpins-both-the-alt-right-and-silicon-valley-technophiles>discredit 
all democracy
Essentials: 
<https://www.bitchute.com/video/AH8pJ8vLnpQQ/>Michael 
Hudson | 
<https://www.bitchute.com/video/mlGKutbgByo4/>Blackrock/Vanguard 
| Tony 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAq1q1_swyM>on 
Brexit & 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsxxlpLccE8&pp=ygUWVGhlIFRyYWl0b3JzIG9mIEFybmhlbQ%3D%3D>The 
Traitors of Arnhem | 
<https://www.bitchute.com/video/s3keNigJaj63/>Evolution 
| 
<https://www.bitchute.com/video/Yhv9ZMby68Ig>War 
between God & Lucifer | 
<http://www.itsuandi.org/itsui/downloads/Itsui_Materials/Albert_Pike's_Plan_for_Three_World_Wars.pdf>Plan 
for three World Wars | Armageddonists I have 
known: 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXKz4uwZC_k>Nick 
Land (1975-8) | 
<https://www.bitchute.com/video/pkIIeuailaUt/>George 
Monbiot (1995-8) | Manna for the Revelation 
Generation: 
<https://www.radio4all.net/program/108328>CONSPIRACY 
CLASSICS, longer interviews/lectures

"And I think, in the end, that is the best 
definition of journalism I have heard; to 
challenge authority - all authority - especially 
so when governments and politicians take us to 
war, when they have decided that they will kill 
and others will die. " --Robert Fisk
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMn9GM4atN3t7AHJBbHMR0Q/videos
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2149
http://www.thisweek.org.uk
http://www.911forum.org.uk
http://www.tlio.org.uk
Tony's free watermarked books www.bilderberg.org 
- My ebooks https://payhip.com/TonyGosling
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvPbHiqhLtpNWA_cg_1NULw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMn9GM4atN3t7AHJBbHMR0Q
https://www.twitter.com/TonyGosling
https://www.facebook.com/tony.gosling.16
You can donate to support Tony's work here http://www.bilderberg.org/bcfm.htm
Or buy Tony's three ebooks for £10-£15 here 
https://payhip.com/TonyGosling or paperback here 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254963338161
TG mobile +44 7786 952037

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/pipermail/diggers350/attachments/20240426/356a8a3b/attachment-0003.html>