Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden claims there is a US National Security Agency facility in Auckland and another north of the city.

The former NSA analyst made an appearance at Internet Party founder Kim Dotcom's "moment of truth" event at the Auckland Town Hall on Monday night via a video link from Russia.

The capacity crowd was on its feet and cheering as Mr Snowden's face was beamed onto a big screen.

Hours before the event, in an article posted on The Intercept website, Mr Snowden said that any statement that mass surveillance isn't carried out in New Zealand is "categorically false".

"If you live in New Zealand, you are being watched," he wrote.

In the course of his work at an NSA facility in Hawaii, Mr Snowden said he routinely came across New Zealanders' communications using a mass surveillance tool the NSA shares with the GCSB, called XKEYSCORE.

"It allows total, granular access to the database of communications collected in the course of mass surveillance. It is not limited to or even used largely for the purposes of cybersecurity, as has been claimed, but is instead used primarily for reading individuals' private email, text messages, and internet traffic."

Mr Snowden told the Auckland audience there are NSA facilities in New Zealand that "the GCSB is aware of and that means the prime minister is aware of".

One of those facilities is in Auckland and there is another north of Auckland.

While he was working at the NSA, Mr Snowden said using XKEYSCORE he could see records of conversations of people around the world.

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NSA facilities in NZ: Snowden