The Swedish Security Service (Säpo) has claimed the number of actions taken to attempt to influence the upcoming national election have increased compared to previous elections.
Säpo listed a number of different tactics they said were being deployed in order to try and interfere with or influence the election including fake social media accounts, discussions on the subject of electoral fraud, and instances of misinformation being spread through social media platforms, SVT reports.
Linda Escar, a deputy unit head at the security police, commented on the report saying: “We see increased activities compared with previous elections in 2014, and also compared to how it was earlier this year. This could include activities in the digital arena such as electronic attacks, denial of service, and automated accounts.”
Despite claims of possible election interference from Russia, made on several occasions including the campaign of President Emmanuel Macron last year, the Swedish security service claims there is little evidence to suggest a state actor being behind the increase in activity.
Escar did, however, cite foreign media reporting on Sweden saying: “We have also seen news in international media about conditions in Sweden where Sweden is put in a perspective of being a chaotic country.”
Sweden's government will be giving funds to the mainstream media to fight "fake news" https://t.co/JBMdnH4Im8
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 30, 2017
Breitbart London has reported on the trends of crime and violence in Sweden for years, including the conditions in some of Sweden’s no-go “vulnerable areas”. Recently mainstream media outlets, including Politico and the New York Times, admitted that the country has major problems with gang violence and gun crime.
Breitbart London has also been ahead of Swedish media in reporting that the vast majority of those convicted for gang rape were from foreign backgrounds.
Ms Escar also went on to assure the Swedish public that the election would be secure from tampering on election day saying: “it is important to remember that the vote and the election results are well protected. We will have a reliable election result, even if, for example, a denial of service attack on a site with election-related information occurs.”
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