The Swedish Troll Factory

 

Video 28 min. Watch now on www.dis.art

 

Faced with a crisis, what do you do? The first instinct: change something, do something differently.

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In the wake of a severe economic crisis in the 70s, politicians and a frenzied Swedish media presented a unanimous solution: dismantle the public sector, deregulate the market, and slash welfare and social safety nets. The message was resounding: it wasn’t possible to have extensive welfare for citizens and a thriving economy. Swedish voters, influenced by the messaging, voted for a new conservative government. 

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While fiscally conservative rhetoric is familiar, we hardly think of it as a conspiracy. In this case, the alleged economic “crisis” deplored by these pundits was entirely fabricated––based on manipulated statistics, erroneous analysis, and exaggerated findings.

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Artists Nathalie Gabrielsson and Peter Sköld and the Kybernein Institute uncover the monumental disinformation campaign that took advantage of Swedish voters and led to mass unemployment, social fragmentation, and plummeting living standards. 

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