In a survey, 21 percent of the group say they have fairly high or very high confidence in Swedish news media’s ability to report correctly and impartially about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. In the rest of Sweden, the corresponding figure is 43 percent.
48 percent of those with a foreign background in vulnerable areas have little confidence in the Swedish media’s coverage of Gaza, compared to 26 percent among the rest of the population.
“Can be exploited”
Ahmed Abdirahman, CEO and founder of Järvaveckan, thinks the result is worrying.
We are in a time where there is ongoing disinformation about global conflicts and crises. Therefore, it is even more important to be able to trust our domestic Swedish news media, he says.
We see misinformation coming from Russia and also other actors both inside and outside of Sweden who are working against Swedish cohesion.
Even in the attitude towards media reporting on the war in Ukraine, trust in media reporting is lower in the group. Likewise for Swedish news media in general, although the difference there is not as great as in the case of Gaza.
This can have serious consequences and the gaps can be exploited by others. Therefore, we, journalists, politicians, civil society and authorities, must work together to close the trust gap, says Ahmed Abdirahman.
“Unfair”
Julia Agha, CEO of the Swedish Arabic-language news channel Alkompis, believes that many with a foreign background experience the Swedish reporting as cold.
One might expect the media to reflect this feeling that people have. Many international media, which are sometimes regime-controlled and do not follow the same Swedish press ethics, have more emotional and sensational content, she says.
It is also about which voices the editors choose to highlight, says Julia Agha.
Many feel that not all perspectives are included in the media’s reporting, that it is unfair and that the entire context of the conflict is not included, she says.
We work in the same way as other Swedish media, but we are closer to our target group. Many readers are personally affected by the war and we have, for example, been to a greater extent to demonstrations and asked questions.
Facts: About the survey
The new report from Järvagruppen Research is part of a larger survey, the results of which were gradually presented during the spring.
This time, they have also focused on the respondents’ attitude towards Swedes with different beliefs, what they think about the Swedish news media’s reporting on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and the politicians’ work against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
The survey has been carried out by Indikator Opinion on behalf of Järvaveckan Research. A total of just over 4,300 people have participated, of which 3,300 lived in vulnerable areas.
Foreign background here means people who were born abroad or who were born in Sweden and who have parents born abroad.