Swedish Institute of International Affairs reports that the Russian Federation make fake news, false documents, disinformation as part of a coordinated campaign to influence public opinion and decision-making in Sweden. “An increasing amount of disinformation, forged telegrams and fake news items have surfaced in the Swedish information landscape. These developments have taken place in the context of a deteriorated security situation in the wider Baltic region, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in February 2014,” reads the report “Russian politicians and diplomats have proactively intervened in Sweden’s domestic political affairs; and a number of pro-Kremlin NGOs and GONGOs have become operational in Sweden. In social media, troll armies are targeting journalists and academics, including the ‘hijacking’ of Twitter accounts. Disinformation on NATO and suspected intrusions by foreign submarines have appeared in Swedish media, themes which were picked up by Sputnik, RT and other sources of Russian public diplomacy and broadcast to an international audience. Lastly, there exist examples of important target groups in Sweden, such as political actors, NGOs and newspapers, who wittingly or unwittingly have performed a role as interlocutors of disinformation,” states Swedish Institute of International Affairs. See also: 10 facts about Russian propaganda One of the report’s authors, Sebastian Åsberg stated that a key Russian tool was the Swedish-language version of its state-funded news website Sputnik News, which published four thousand propaganda articles between 2015 and spring 2016, when it was closed. “Sputnik International, which replaced Voice of Russia on 10 November 2014, launched its Swedish language version on 15 April 2015. The most frequently appearing targets in Swedish Sputnik reporting are the EU (698 articles), NATO (321) and the United States (1018). Ukraine is referenced 882 times, almost without exception in an extremely unfavourable light (with ‘fascism’, ‘corruption’, ‘authoritarianism’ and ‘belligerence’ as some of the most recurring themes).” The report stated that the Russian Federation had used misleading reports, forged documents and fabricated news items on its state-run news website Sputnik, and public interventions by Russian politicians in Swedish domestic affairs, as well as more covert methods. “One example of Sputnik’s operating mode is the way the news site reported on Ukraine and Syria in 2015. Attention towards Ukraine radically diminished in August, at the same time as coverage of Syria began to increase. Syrian war had been consistently intense for months, if not years, prior...