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Facebook is used daily by 51 percent of Swedes over the age of 12, according to the Internet Foundation report “Swedes and the Internet 2019” and remains the most widely used social network in Sweden. According to the 2020 digital news report from the Reuters Institute, 32 percent of Swedes use Facebook as a news source.
In the months leading up to the 2018 parliamentary elections, right-wing populist pages dominated engagement on Swedish Facebook. They conveyed a dark image of Sweden, often with xenophobic and sometimes outright anti-Semitic messages. In a review in the fall of 2018, DN was able to show how several of the larger pages, such as Politically Incorrect and Sweden together, posted their posts in sync with the official Facebook page of the Sweden Democrats.
However, the communications department of the Swedish Democrats denied cooperation.
Interest in right-wing populist Facebook pages remains high, measured in what are called “interactions,” that is, the number of reactions, comments, and shares. Significantly greater than the commitment of the left sides.
But the DN review shows Also a clear slowdown since the spread of covid-19 gained momentum in the spring and coverage of the pandemic began to dominate the Swedish media and political conversation.
The right-wing populist Facebook pages that DN reviewed two years ago received half as many interactions in April 2020 as in February of the same year. Since then, the numbers have pointed slightly higher, but are still lower than before the pandemic.
However, there are two major differences from the right-wing populist landscape on Facebook today, compared to 2018:
Politikfakta, the Facebook page that, in terms of participation, dominated Swedish Facebook during the 2018 election campaign, no longer exists. The site was founded in 2012 to support the Alliance, but it developed over the years in an increasingly radical direction and grew with it. As of August 2018, the page’s posts were shared 93,268 times. But in September 2019, Facebook closed the page permanently. Administrators continued to post content on a new Facebook page, “Politikfakta 2,” which had garnered nearly a tenth of the followers of its predecessor when it was also removed in September this year.
Facebook confirms to DN that it has removed Political Facts because it has violated the platform’s rules. DN has searched Politikfakta, but no answer.
Other big right-wing populists Facebook pages, such as Skurtposting and Stoppa svenskfientligheten, are no longer active.
– It can be due to many things, but probably because the admin or the groups behind these pages review their channels and the intended target groups. Activity will certainly increase the closer we get to the elections, in combination with the slowdown of the corona pandemic, says Marie Grusell, a media researcher at the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Gothenburg.
When DN looks at which linked Facebook posts elicit the highest Facebook engagement in Sweden in 2020, several of the players are expected: Aftonbladet, Expressen and Newsner often pinch the top spots.
But during the summer And in the fall, the NB Nyhetsbyrån Facebook page has often reached the top of the post list with more reactions, comments and shares. NB Nyhetsbyrån and also outperformed previous Facebook giants like Politiskt inorrekt and Sverigebilden. In August this year, NB Nyhetsbyrån articles received almost 248,000 interactions, almost five times more than Svenska Dagbladet during the same period.
NB Nyhetsbyrån is also available as a news site and is described by the administrator as a broadcast of “worthless news” as a counterweight to what is supposed to be angled news in traditional media.
The focus of the page is short informational texts, often borrowed from traditional media.
Of just over 190 text messages in August, about 60 percent were about immigration, Islam and crime. Founder Christopher Jarnvall says the site is non-partisan, but that his own leadership texts take a conservative approach.
DN review shows that various people who previously wrote or worked for the site are connected to the Swedish Democrats and the Medborgerlig sample.
Christopher Jarnvall runs the site and Facebook page from his home in Kolmården with one other person. He says the news rating is based primarily on “what is done best.”
– We want to earn money, that is the business idea. I would have liked to have written longer and longer political reports, but I should find readers for that too. Of course, we have contact with politicians and we receive some advice, but we do not have cooperation with any party or organization.
Christopher Jarnvall was the political editor of Nya Wermlands-Tidningen for a few years in the early 1990s. He earns his living primarily as a “public affairs” consultant, but also claims to earn income from donations and advertisements. Today, it is mainly about some Google Ads.
– The amount of money we earn is a thing between us and the Swedish Revenue Agency. But I can say so much that you can always earn more.
That compromise around NB Nyhetsbyrån’s Facebook page means and what it says about the page’s influence is hard to say, according to Jonas Andersson Schwarz, associate professor of media and communication science at the University of Södertörn.
– Facebook is extremely closed, it is difficult to access sensitive data. But you have to distinguish between unique users and interactions, there are two different things. In this case, NB Nyhetsbyrån has just over 40,000 followers on Facebook, one-tenth of Aftonbladet, says Jonas Andersson Schwarz.
– But if those who use the site are very active and interact a lot, Facebook’s algorithms reward you. Interactions provide great visibility and can create the illusion of a great opinion.
Christopher Jarnvall’s company also owns the domain that belongs to Steget efter, an internet series that focuses on topics related to immigration, crime and criticism of public service and is popular in right-wing circles on Twitter.
According to Christopher Jarnvall, the company helped the person behind Steget after raising money. Otherwise there is no cooperation, he claims.
Between political parties on Facebook Sweden’s Democrats continue to dominate. Never before has the party’s Facebook post received as many reactions, comments, and shares as it did during August 2020: 866,718. This is higher than the party’s previous record high of just over 793,000 engagements achieved just before the 2018 election.
During the period from January to August 2020, the Swedish Democrats have been almost twice as many as all other parliamentary parties combined, in terms of interactions.
Marie Grusell says this can be partly explained by the fact that the central issues of the Swedish Democrats involve many. She also sets a firecracker so that part of the commitment can be based on fictitious or fake accounts.
– In general, the Swedes are not very politically involved. For most people, social media is entertainment and relaxation. But for those who want to see greater changes in society and do not believe it will come in the same way in traditional media, Facebook has become very important.
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