Last year, undue information campaigns against Sweden decreased after a few years of increased activity in connection with, among other things, NATO entry.
At present, the Psychological Defense Agency does not see any increased activity ahead of the elections this fall.
Our general assessment now is that we do not really see the Swedish election as a prioritized target for Russia and Russian influence.
But it has increased during elections in Europe, and therefore we must take into account that it can also happen here, says Jerker Sundstrand, project manager for MPF's election work.
Influencing opinions
One reason why activity in Sweden is low is that the most important issue for Russia - which is the actor that has tried to influence European elections to the greatest extent - is trying to influence support for Ukraine.
In Sweden, it doesn't really matter who comes to power, because there is strong support for continued backing of Ukraine regardless, says Sundstrand.
According to Sundstrand, information influence on elections often has two different purposes. One is to try to influence the election process itself and the outcome of the election. This can be done, for example, by claiming that the election was not conducted fairly or through smear campaigns.
The second is to influence the free formation of opinions.
In this case, it could be bot networks participating in public debate on social media. For example, they could act on both sides of a discussion, thereby making the issue appear more polarized.
This type of campaign is ongoing at a low intensity in Sweden as well, and cannot be directly linked to the election.
If it is chaotic and polarized in Sweden, with a high tone, then it is seen as a win for Russia, says Jerker Sundstrand.
Migration and crime
He describes the larger players - primarily Russia but also China and Iran - as opportunistic.
If they see something where there is a sharp political discussion and emotions are running high, they can take advantage of it; then it doesn't matter if it is an issue that they think is particularly important, he says.
We have previously seen that issues surrounding migration and crime have been areas that foreign actors have tried to influence.
Facts: Undue influence of information
Undue information influence is various activities directed at Sweden by foreign actors that aim to harm society in various ways, influence perceptions, decisions or behaviors.
The goal is often to create division or incite conflict.
Psychological defense is society's shared ability to identify and resist such undue information influence.
Source: Psychological Defense Agency
