Published: Less than 2 hours ago
A nice article about a different family has ended in a hate storm.
Articles on international platforms claim that Sweden has kidnapped a Muslim child and given it to John and Johan Valencia.
– It’s terribly unpleasant, and it feels unfair that a child should have to be the subject of this kind of false propaganda, says John Valencia.
A week ago John and Johan Valencia were in Aftonbladet and talked about how their family became four, about their two daughters Miriam and Astrid and about their new book.
– The article got the wrong rings on the water, unfortunately, it turned out to be something completely different from what we could have ever imagined, says John Valencia.
After the article, they have been subjected to a global hate storm, which South Sweden have reported on. It is alleged that the Swedish state has kidnapped a Muslim child – and given it to Johan and John.
– We are of course incredibly frustrated and pissed off that someone would choose to do this to our daughter. She is the most vulnerable, she is the one they are after. It’s incredibly uncomfortable.
According to Sydsvenskan, the campaign against the family of the YouTuber that the Authority for Psychological Defense (MPF) has determined started the disinformation campaign against Swedish social services last spring.
Then it took off.
Among the major media that have spread the lie about John and Johan are Al Jazeera, which is the largest television channel in the Arab world, and Turkey’s national channel TRT. In Sweden, according to Sydsvenskan, the rumors are spreading in Facebook groups and on the Swedish-Arabic site Aktarr, but who now say that they will come out with a correction.
– We saw this repeated on major channels and in this case have failed in our fact-checking. We will now come out with a correction and really regret what has happened, says Kotada Yonus, responsible publisher at Aktarr to Sydsvenskan.
Biological grandmother: “Absurd”
For the Valencia family, the spread of rumors has turned life upside down. They feel powerless to be seen with name and image on Swedish-Arab news sites and forums, which spread lies about them.
They have received hundreds of comments from unknown people. At first it contained hatred – but over the course of the week it turned into threats.
– It is incredibly unpleasant, because you ask yourself the question of what people are capable of doing, says John Valencia.
The rumor mill is not only unpleasant – it is also completely incorrect. Miriam was adopted by John and Johan almost five years ago. Her mother is from Sweden, and is also a Christian. It is also confirmed by Miriam’s biological grandmother
Miriam’s biological grandmother Anna Söderbäck is close to the family. They meet regularly, and she feels great sadness at what the family has to endure.
– The whole story is absurd, and very unpleasant of course. I am terribly sorry about this. John and Johan are some of the nicest parents I’ve seen. They are very caring and incredibly loving, and give the children all their time, she says.
She has been the contact person and bridge between the Valencia family and Miriam’s biological family.
– It is such a terrible hatred, which is whipped up on completely wrong grounds. It feels so unfair.
Police-reported hate crime
The Valencia family is in close contact with the police. Last week they reported defamation, that there was false information about them that was spread. Soon they would also have to report actual threats.
– Now it has escalated to become a hate crime, in that it is aimed at us as gay men, says John.
The most important thing for him and his husband is now to focus all their attention on their children and Miriam.
– It feels unfair that a child should have to be the subject of this type of false propaganda. That’s why we’re talking about this publicly, we can’t just accept that it’s happening.