The issue of Swedish authorities taking children from their parents is widespread in the Arab world, and this is the Swedish authorities' response.
Social media activists and Arab satellite channels have been widely discussing in recent days the issue of Swedish authorities taking children from their parents and placing them with Swedish families or in children’s care homes through the “Social” institution, which means “social” in Arabic, i.e., social services.
According to local and Swedish media, Swedish authorities fear that the “highly aggressive disinformation campaign” could lead to violence by extremists.
The video of the crying child screaming in Arabic, saying “They stole me, they kidnapped me, they took me from my mom and dad, help me,” has been shared more than half a million times on Twitter.
The accompanying text claims that the child was abducted by Swedish authorities and that, like many other children, he is being taken away from his family.
TV2 reported that the video is just one of many examples of a widespread disinformation campaign against Swedish social services that has spread like wildfire in Arabic-language media and on social media pages among millions of followers.
Activists called for a boycott of Sweden and used the hashtag “Stop kidnapping our children,” which was shared more than 35,000 times last week.
The Swedish Psychological Protection Agency describes the campaign as “an ongoing campaign to influence foreign information” with “serious allegations of child trafficking,” according to Aftonbladet.
According to Expressen, the campaign is also supported by the circle surrounding Imam Abu Raad, who was sentenced to deportation from Sweden for posing a threat to Swedish society. However, the deportation order was not carried out because the Swedish authorities estimated that the imam and the group around him would face the risk of death in their homeland of Iraq.
Between 100 and 200 people demonstrated on Monday in Stockholm to protest the “alleged kidnappings,” the source says, and a new demonstration was announced in Gothenburg on Sunday.
According to the source, the current assessment is that the series of forced removals of children is a conspiracy that Sweden is systematically abducting Muslim children.
The Swedish government has launched an emergency plan to counter the accusations, translating an explanation of Swedish rules into 18 languages, in addition to activating the role of Swedish embassies in an attempt to spread knowledge about the Swedish model.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said the set of laws was non-negotiable, despite someone having an interest in painting a distorted picture (of the relevant Swedish laws), stating, “It is quite clear that we are looking at the best interests of the child. You should know that if you come to Sweden from another country. Here, we are looking at the best interests of the child, not the parents.”.
A coordinated campaign against Sweden
Mikael Tufson, head of operations at the Psychological Protection Agency, said the campaign began on December 28 of last year on an Arabic-language website, but only started spreading aggressively from the end of January.
According to the source, calls have spread for demonstrations and, in some cases, attacks on social services offices in Sweden. There is a fear that the plot could lead to violent reactions similar to the publication of the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) or, in the worst case, a terrorist attack as in the case of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Swedish Security Service spokesman Fredrik Hultgren-Freberg told Swedish television SVT
Swedish police are aware of the threat: “Police believe that extremist and violent groups are using expressions of discontent and a more polarized public debate to convey their messages and spread propaganda and disinformation online.”.
Sources: TV2 and local and Swedish media outlets
