The revelation of the cold facts that the Sweden Democrats used anonymous accounts is outrageous according to disinformation expert Navin Nayak.
He believes that Russia worked in a similar way before the election in the United States in 2016.
– That a political party in a democracy actively tries to hide, deny and mislead the people is a big threat. It is something that I hope the Swedish people do not take lightly, says Navin Nayak from the liberal think tank Center for American Progress.
In its review, cold facts was able to identify 23 accounts that were run from the Sweden Democrats’ communications department, without it being made clear. The reactions from both the other Tidö parties and the opposition have been strong. During Friday, among other things, the Liberals announced that they want to ban anonymous party accounts.
– The Sweden Democrats have announced that they do not immediately intend to remove the anonymous accounts, therefore we see a need for this to be more clearly regulated in law, said Johan Pehrson (L).
“This is how the Russians worked”
Disinformation expert Navin Nayak of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress was formerly part of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. During the 2016 presidential election, he saw how Russian “trolls” tried to influence the election, and draws parallels to how the Sweden Democrats used anonymous accounts.
– The scary reality is that this is actually how the Russians worked in the American election in 2016, says Navin Nayak to TV4 Nyheterna.
He points out that Russian fake accounts tried to turn voters against Hillary Clinton. But according to Navin Nayak, there is no evidence that the Republican Party used such methods or financed it.
– What is worrying is that you have to remember why they do this. It is a political party that is doing it to mislead the public, the voters and so that they can gain political power, says Nayak.
Hope Sweden takes it seriously
Nayak describes it as a “big threat” that a political party is trying to mislead the people.
– It is something that I hope the Swedish people do not take lightly.
At the same time, he emphasizes that it is not just a political party that does this, but a party that is part of the government foundation. The inspiration for the method comes, according to Nayak, from anti-democratic and authoritarian behaviour.
Trying to manipulate information in social media, he believes, is here to stay, and is driven by the technical development of deepfakes and AI, among other things.
– The reality is that this will not go away, we will continue to have illiberal and undemocratic actors, hopefully they are not in government, says Nayak.
This is what the Cold Facts reveal
For a year, Kalla fakta’s reporter has followed SD’s troll factory closely with the help of a hidden camera. This is what we have been able to document:
• Cold facts have identified 23 accounts that are operated from SD’s communications department without it being apparent. On the inside of the party, the numbers 50, 70 and 100 accounts are also mentioned, but the names of the accounts are usually not discussed openly and the exact number is therefore unknown to Cold Facts.
• These are thirteen accounts on TikTok, three accounts on Youtube, three accounts on Instagram and four accounts on Facebook. Two of the accounts are “White Offended Women” and “Politically Incorrect”.
• SD has also employed two influencers who produce political material without it being apparent that the Sweden Democrats are behind it.
• The operation is financed, among other things, with tax money via the party contributions SD receives.
• The Sweden Democrats’ anonymous accounts spread xenophobic clips and mass-produce misleading information about Sweden, as well as attack politicians from other parties.
• Humor is described by the online warriors as an effective tool to convince young people to become Sweden Democrats.
• In a clip from the hidden camera, party employees discuss how to spread disinformation about the Social Democrats in Arabic during the election campaign and, among other things, call for “violent resistance”.
• Communications manager Joakim Wallerstein acts to bypass what is called a “troll factory block” on Tiktok by buying new mobile phones for the online warriors for tens of thousands of kroner.
• When two employees have to leave their computers at the workshop, they are scolded by the communications manager Joakim Wallerstein. He is afraid that it will lead to big headlines in the press if the contents of the internet warrior’s computer become known.
• Employees make deep fakes with AI of votes of political opponents. For example, they make Magdalena Andersson say things she has never said.
• Jimmie Åkesson allegedly knows about one of the employees’ anonymous accounts and that it is approved from above. Jimmie Åkesson dismisses the latter as bragging from the employee.
• The YouTube channel Riks is claimed to be independent and independent – but is connected in several ways to the Communications Department. Their material is an important part of the troll factory’s machinery, and the party’s employees have direct access to Rik’s IT system.