The newly formed Swedish Agency for Psychological Defense has recently launched the campaign “Do not be fooled” to make Swedes better at recognizing false or misleading information from outside. The campaign is marketed in social media, in newspapers and on traditional advertising pillars.
Project manager Nemo Stjernström explains why he thinks the campaign is needed.
– We have a deteriorating world situation in view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This increases the risk that Sweden may be exposed to undue information influence, he says.
Nemo Stjernström points out that Sweden’s and Finland’s application for membership in NATO further increases the likelihood of a comprehensive campaign of influence from foreign powers.
– The vulnerability also increases as we have an election movement, he says.
According to Nemo Stjernström There is currently an increase in activity from several actors, which is directed at Sweden in different ways.
– For example, at the beginning of the year we had a powerful information campaign aimed at Sweden when it comes to social services and LVU. There were links to Islamist groups outside Sweden. They have got water on their mill through the burning of the Koran. The same actors take care and then it starts to fire, he says.
– This is going on in parallel with what has to do with our NATO application, which disturbs certain actors out there, just like the war in Ukraine, says Nemo Stjernström, who does not want to develop his reasoning more than that.
What can false information lead to?
– It can incite hatred and contribute to polarization in society. It is used by the groups that want to threaten and disrupt the function of society and to some extent disrupt the democratic process in Sweden.
So what should individuals who surf their mobile phones or computers think about in order not to fall into the trap and be influenced by external agendas? According to the Swedish Agency for Psychological Defense, one should, among other things, be careful when encountering humor. So-called mems – humorous pictures, quotes and movies – create recognition and can, according to the campaign, be used to support a hidden agenda.
– The individual joke or meme is quite harmless. It is only when it is shared and becomes part of a truth and debate that it becomes dangerous. The positions in the debate are slowly being moved in that way, says Nemo Stjernström.
Learning to recognize false information is also important. URLs that are similar to well-known platforms, but where a few letters differ, are a common ploy to deceive credibility.
Costs SEK 15 million
● The newly launched Swedish Defense Agency produces the “Do not be fooled” campaign.
● The campaign will cost around SEK 15 million, of which SEK 12 million is expenses for media and advertising purchases.
● The project is divided into two campaign periods of four weeks each. The first is now underway, until 19 June. The second kicks off on August 15, ahead of the election.
● On the website bliintelurad.se there are tips on how to recognize false information.
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Headlines that create strong reactions should also be used with caution. Some share articles further in affection before reading the content, which benefits those who want to spread false information.
– Something we become very involved in, we tend to share to a greater extent. Then one involuntarily participates in reinforcing a misleading narrative. You should think before you share, especially when something is terribly funny or outrageous.
Manipulated images or images that have no real connection to the articles can also mislead readers. Doing a quick image search to find out if the image has been used in other contexts can be an easy way to determine the authenticity.
In order to assess information, one should, among other things, find out whether it is about opinions or facts, whether the information is still relevant, why the information exists and who is behind it.
– You have to do some source criticism, check out what news media you trust writes about the subject. But being critical of sources all the time is very difficult. Then you can develop something called source trust, when you use some sources that you trust, preferably completely independent of each other. You can go to them and thus maintain a guard against the worst.