Tax-funded SVT no longer publishes any posts on X or Facebook – even though these are two of the social media platforms used by most Swedes.
The state broadcaster does not want to say whether it is for political reasons they choose to leave, but only briefly comments that they will instead use Youtube and Snapchat in the future.
Anyone who clicks on SVT’s profiles on X or Facebook is greeted by the message that “we do not publish here at the moment”. Users are not told why, and when the Bonnier newspaper Expressen contacted SVT’s head of video Erica Lascelles, she did not want to elaborate on the decision.
– Overall, we want to reach more people with our news, and social media is part of our strategy. We are therefore pausing publication on SVT Nyheter’s accounts on Facebook and X, while Nyhetskoll – our brand new initiative on news for teenagers – is starting its own page on svt.se, and testing presence on Youtube and Snapchat, she says.
It should be noted that most of the major Swedish establishment media remain on Facebook – but that many chose to leave X after Musk took over ownership, reduced censorship and introduced a much freer debate climate than before.
Wolodarski: “Extreme debate climate”
Omni, Bonnier newspaper DN, Schibsted-owned Aftonbladet and state radio SR are just a few examples of Swedish media that have previously left X.
– Since Elon Musk took over, the platform has increasingly merged with his own and Donald Trump’s political ambitions, while the climate at X has become more harsh and extreme, argued DN’s editor-in-chief Peter Wolodarski when justifying the decision.
However, many observers argue that it is more a case of the “legacy media” struggling to assert itself and becoming increasingly irrelevant in an environment that is not deeply marked by censorship, and where competing narratives and voices have the opportunity to be heard in a different way than before.