To save its democracy, Sweden is trying to prove truth can fly faster than a lie.
In recent weeks, officials have repeatedly said Sweden does not condone the burning of holy books, such as the Quran, even if it has granted permits for such public acts as a constitutional right. They have, for the first time, named Russia as the source of false narratives online about Sweden being hostile against Islam. And since last year – when Sweden experienced its largest disinformation campaign ever – officials have pointed out that someone with links to the Islamic State group was behind false reports that Swedish social services were taking children from Muslim families to Christianize them.
Sweden has lately become a role model for such quick fact-telling. After Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, it set up a lie-squashing body last year – the Psychological Defense Agency – just in time to counter a campaign aimed at preventing its entry into NATO and turning the Islamic world, especially Turkey, against Sweden.
“I believe truth will win in the long run when you have free debate,” the agency’s spokesperson, Mikael Östlund, told Deutsche Welle last week. The issue, he added, is to ensure an open debate.
The task of the new agency is to counter foreign sources of disinformation, not information generated inside Sweden. “We try to take action against malicious disinformation and propaganda coming from abroad that tries to change our view of reality, our voting behavior, our everyday decisions,” Magnus Hjort, the agency’s acting director general, told the German news outlet Süddeutsche Zeitung.
“Nothing and nobody prevents people from telling lies,” he said. “But we will do everything to expose these lies as lies.”
The agency does try to educate Swedes on ways to discern facts from fake news. But it also presents “correct and verified information … in a way that makes it possible for people to think through their choices and make informed decisions,” according to the agency website. By laying a groundwork of truth, Sweden hopes that lies find no place to grow.