Swedish Public Service Journalists Invade Home of Vaccine Critic Using Fake Identities.
“I wanted to believe that they were genuine. They said they were vaccine sceptics and wanted to do a documentary about it. I really thought we were becoming friends. They were brilliant actors”, said Linda Karlström, a victim of government-controlled media in Sweden.
On 16 December 2020, Swedish state television (SVT.se) aired the final episode of a three-part documentary titled “Vaccinkrigarna,” or The Vaccine Warriors, a critical take on vaccine scepticism. The next day, 17 December 2020, the media went ballistic: Coach of the Year is a Conspiracy Theorist and Anti-Semite, their headlines shouted.
”I was fired on the spot. I did not know how to survive from one minute to the next – where did the newspapers get all this from?”
The title of the first instalment of the documentary, “Infiltration,” was apt: the reporters from SVT went in undercover; with fake names, and fake credentials, even altering their physical appearances, to get close to their targets, with Kronoby’s Coach of the Year, being the first.
Linda Karlström sued the Government of Sweden for violating her rights according to the European Convention. The trial starts on 7 February 2023.
Text by Kristoffer Hell