EDITORIAL • When Dagens ETC wants to attack Samnytt, it’s not enough to scrutinize what we publish or even what we advertise. Instead, the leftist newspaper builds chains of association from a couple of history books, through other books, other publishers, and old publications, all the way to Nazism, antisemitism, and Putin’s Russia. The method says far more about ETC’s journalism than it does about Samnytt.

There is an old and proven method for those who want to smear a political opponent but have little incriminating evidence: guilt by association. If A knows B who did business with C, who once worked with D, who has expressed something objectionable, A can be made suspect as well. Keep the chain going long enough and almost anyone can be connected to almost anything. Dagens ETC has now demonstrated this method on Samnytt.

The newspaper has recently been the subject of several less-than-flattering investigations on our site. Among other things, we have written about ETC’s deep-red socialist history, the millions in state media subsidies, the demands for repayment of wrongly paid press support, and the troubling contradiction between the newspaper’s recurring campaign against private profit in tax-funded operations and their own model with private investors being offered returns.

Now ETC is scrutinizing Samnytt in return. That is, of course, absolutely fine. Media must be able to withstand scrutiny. The only problem is that they seem to have had trouble finding anything compromising in our journalism, so they’ve gone on a considerably longer associative journey.

From History Book to Nazism in a Few Simple Steps

The starting point for ETC’s big exposé is advertisements that have appeared on Samnytt for two Swedish history books. One is Lars Ulwencreutz’s From Odin to Vasa, about Swedish royal lineages. The other is Lennart Svensson’s nearly 600-page A Realm Like No Other, about Swedish history. The ads originate from the bookstore Alternamedia.

From there, ETC begins its expedition through the political undergrowth. Alternamedia also sells books ETC dislikes. For example, there are works by the Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin. There’s Jacques Baud. There are books ETC calls vaccine-skeptical.

But that’s not enough. Ulwencreutz, a long time ago with his own publishing house, published The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an infamous antisemitic forgery. ETC therefore asks Samnytt’s CEO Kent Ekeroth how he views the publication—even though Samnytt did not advertise The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. ETC’s own interview with Ulwencreutz also shows that the author himself calls the document extremely antisemitic and defends its availability due to its historical significance.

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The journey continues. A Realm Like No Other was previously published by the publisher Logik, founded by a person with a background in the National Socialist Front and now connected to Det fria Sverige. With this, ETC manages to headline “Ads for Nazi Publisher on the SD-top’s Site.”

It’s a small journalistic feat. Samnytt is thus not advertising for National Socialism. Samnytt is not advertising for The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Samnytt is not advertising for Alexander Dugin. Samnytt isn’t even advertising for all of Alternamedia’s inventory.

But if you follow enough links backward and sideways, you will eventually end up at Nazism. And that’s exactly where ETC wants to end up.

Guilt by Association Has No Natural End Point

For the sake of clarity: Samnytt has no interest in defending The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It is an antisemitic forgery historically used to incite hatred against Jews. Nor do we need to defend every book Alternamedia sells, every opinion any of its authors holds, or every book ever published by Logik.

The point is—that is not our responsibility. A media outlet is responsible for its own publications and, reasonably, also for which ads it chooses to publish. But it does not follow that the outlet assumes ideological responsibility for every other product the advertiser sells, let alone for everything an advertised author has previously written or published.

Yet this is precisely the logic ETC employs. Kent Ekeroth pointed this out in his response to the newspaper:

“Samnytt is not responsible for a bookseller’s entire range or for the opinions of individual authors, and I also note that Bokus sells both Mein Kampf and Dugin’s books, while Adlibris has also sold The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which moreover is found at the Royal Library and other libraries, so the question is whether media outlets advertising for these booksellers should also be associated with Nazism and antisemitism, or does this guilt by association only apply to Samnytt?”

That was a question ETC was not particularly interested in answering. After we posed it again, they replied that it’s a matter of percentages in the offering. Since Bokus and Adlibris sell many more titles, Nazism and antisemitism are more diluted compared to Alternamedia, which has fewer books in its inventory, they argue. ETC’s own publishing house and other radical political publishers they advertise for also have a limited stock. Does the same reasoning apply there?

When the Nazi Card Isn’t Enough, the Russia Card Appears

Nazism isn’t the only politically charged association ETC tries to stick to Samnytt. There’s another of today’s most popular means of casting suspicion: Russia.

Alternamedia sells books by the former Swiss intelligence officer Jacques Baud, whom ETC promptly labels “pro-Russian”, and Alexander Dugin’s Russia and Europe. Dugin is described as a “Russian imperialist ideologue” and ETC reminds readers that he is often called “Putin’s brain.”

What does this have to do with Samnytt’s ads? Nothing. Samnytt has not advertised Dugin’s book. We have not recommended his authorship and we have not supported his ideas. The book just happens to be sold by the same bookstore that sells the history books advertised with us.

Yet ETC’s reporter explicitly asks Kent Ekeroth: “What is your opinion of Dugin and his authorship?” The question is revealing. Why should Ekeroth have to state his views on every other author whose books are in the range of an advertising bookstore?

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The answer is that Dugin is not interesting to ETC because Samnytt has marketed him. He’s interesting because his name offers yet another incriminating association: Russia. Putin. Imperialism.

The words can be placed next to Nazism and antisemitism until the reader hopefully no longer remembers what the story actually began with—ads for Swedish history books. It’s the same journalistic method as before, just with another endpoint.

And here too, the absurdity is revealed as soon as the principle is applied consistently. As Ekeroth pointed out to ETC, Bokus also sells books by Dugin. Does that mean Bokus is pro-Russian? Should Swedish newspapers accepting ads from Bokus declare their stance on Vladimir Putin? Should their editors-in-chief explain what they think of the invasion of Ukraine?

Of course not. Selling a book by Dugin does not mean you share Dugin’s worldview. Advertising for a bookstore that sells Dugin means even less.

But in ETC’s association journalism, the remoteness works the opposite way—the more links are needed to get from Samnytt to the opinion they want to stick to us, the more opportunities they get to fill the article with politically charged words.

The Nazi card and the Russia card work the same way. First, you decide what suspicion you want to raise. Then you look for a chain of association that leads there.

Are Bokus Nazis?

But let’s, for a moment, accept ETC’s premise. Bokus has sold Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. They also sell books by Alexander Dugin. Does that make Bokus a Nazi or pro-Russian bookstore? Are media accepting ads from Bokus complicit in spreading Nazism or Russian imperialism? Should their editors be called and demanded to explain their views on Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin?

Adlibris has also offered The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Should every media company that has received advertising money from Adlibris provide their view on antisemitism? The work is also available in libraries. No reasonable person concludes that libraries therefore sympathize with its content.

A bookstore sells books. A library provides books. A publisher publishes books. A newspaper sells advertising space. In all cases, it must be possible to distinguish between making a text available and endorsing its message.

Otherwise, we get a society where literature is no longer judged by its actual content but where people and organizations must always be examined for ideologically suspect contacts. That’s quite a disturbing view of free speech.

And How Far Does ETC Itself Want to Draw the Principle?

Here it gets especially interesting. Dagens ETC itself publishes books. The newspaper collaborates with publishers, organizations, and opinion-makers on the left, and publishes literature from political circles that Samnytt has major objections to. That is their full right.

ETC’s roots also lie in the revolutionary left. Its predecessor Partisano introduced itself in 1976 with the words: “Another revolutionary newspaper will soon see its first day.”

Founder Johan Ehrenberg has later described the project as socialist. ETC emerged from the radical left where Marxists, Trotskyists, and anarchists mingled, and where social upheaval was not a slur but a political goal.

READ ALSO: ETC and the left claimed victory in advance—published article about victory before the vote was decided

Should we then start applying ETC’s own method of association? Should every company advertising in Dagens ETC be asked about their views on revolutionary socialism? Should advertisers declare what they think of communist dictatorships, political violence, and the far-left movements that ETC’s founder was once involved in?

Of course not. That would be just as intellectually dishonest as holding Samnytt responsible for all of Alternamedia’s book stock. And there’s the principled difference. We will not use ETC’s own method against them just because we can.

When Antisemitism Becomes a Bludgeon

It becomes especially distasteful when ETC tries to make antisemitism part of the story. The newspaper knows perfectly well that Samnytt has repeatedly highlighted and criticized antisemitism. They also know that Kent Ekeroth himself has Jewish roots—something ETC actually mentions in the article—and has written extensively about the growing Jew-hatred in Sweden.

Yet an entirely different book, published many years ago by the author of an advertised history book, is used to smear Samnytt with antisemitism. This becomes even more outrageous against the background of ETC’s own reporting after Hamas’s massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.

READ ALSO: Three rejections and ETC feature as persecuted by Hamas—but likes Hamas martyrs

Dagens ETC has made accusations of Israeli “genocide,” “war crimes,” and “crimes against humanity” a recurring feature in both news reporting and opinion pieces. Criticizing Israel, its government, or its war conduct is not always antisemitism in itself. But much of what has been written under the labels of pro-Palestinian criticism of Israel, Zionism, and so forth, not least by ETC, can hardly be seen as anything other than poorly disguised antisemitism under euphemisms.

The same ETC that searches for antisemitism several links away from Samnytt has been much less eager to apply guilt by association when open Hamas support and anti-Jewish expressions appear in the pro-Palestinian movement whose demonstrations the newspaper often covers with notable sympathy.

The record includes a telling example from Gothenburg, where a Hamas flag was present at a rally on the anniversary of the terrorist attack. ETC allowed a participant to dismiss the matter by saying the flag bearer should “answer for themselves.”

Exactly. The person holding the Hamas flag answers for the Hamas flag. That is actually an excellent principle. Imagine if ETC wanted to apply it to their political opponents as well.

The Moralist Living Off Millions in Tax Money

ETC’s penchant for scrutinizing others’ moral purity becomes no less comical when looking at the newspaper’s own financial history.

Dagens ETC and affiliated publications have for decades received very large amounts in state media subsidies. At the same time, ETC has profiled itself as one of the country’s strongest critics of private profit in tax-funded activities.

Samnytt has previously highlighted a review by freelance journalist Christian Peterson where ETC’s share structures were examined. Private investors have been able to buy stock in the venture even as it was heavily tax-funded. At a new share issue in 2024, a B-share cost 10,000 SEK and, according to the review, was marketed with a 5.5% annual return.

READ ALSO: ETC criticizes profits from tax money—hands out money to private owners itself

The problem is not that companies have owners. The problem is not even that owners get returns. It is ETC that has made profits from tax money a moral issue. When their own operations combine millions in tax support with private investors, their principled approach suddenly becomes much more flexible.

There’s also the story about the press subsidy. In 2018, the Press Subsidy Board decided that three ETC newspapers must repay just over eight million kronor. A large number of gift and agent subscriptions could not be approved for subsidy and so the circulations were revised downward. ETC contested the authority’s decision.

READ ALSO: Left-wing newspaper ETC caught cheating—must repay millions in press subsidies

Even if the label systematic fraud is close at hand, we do not need to call it anything else than what the authorities do. That is sufficient for it to be troublesome for ETC.

We Don’t Hold All of ETC Responsible for the Spit

There’s another example that is almost too illustrative to leave unmentioned. A recurring ETC illustrator, Emanu Garnheim, was convicted of harassment after spitting in the face of Sweden Democrat MP Richard Jomshof. He had previously communicated a desire to “hit Jomshof in the mouth.”

ETC later removed him from activity. Should ETC’s editor-in-chief also be held responsible for the spit? Should the newspaper’s advertisers be required to explain why they financially support a publication that hires individuals who attack elected politicians? Should the Social Democrats, Left Party, and Green Party be held accountable every time one of their representatives appears in ETC?

READ ALSO: ETC’s spitting staff convicted of harassment—here’s the penalty

No. Garnheim is responsible for what Garnheim does. ETC is responsible for what ETC publishes. Just as Samnytt is responsible for what Samnytt publishes. It really can be that simple.

When the Review Doesn’t Find What It Wants

Recently, Samnytt has reviewed ETC on several points. We have written about the newspaper’s political history and how SVT presented this deeply ideological publication with the almost sanitized label “independent red-green.” We have examined ETC’s finances and media support. We have reported on the convicted ETC illustrator.

You don’t need to be conspiracy-minded to suspect this has not made us popular at their editorial office. Now comes the answer. But the remarkable thing isn’t what ETC has found, but what it hasn’t found.

They expose no antisemitic article in Samnytt. No Nazi editorial. No tribute to Hitler. No ad for Mein Kampf. No ad for The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. No ad for Alexander Dugin. No homage to Putin.

Instead, one must follow an advertised history book to its author, then back to another book he previously published. The other history book is traced to its previous publisher, and from there, to the founder’s political background.

And the advertising bookstore is combed through for other titles until you find alleged Nazism, antisemitism, and pro-Russian views to place next to Samnytt’s name. Only when all these threads are woven together can ETC use the word Nazi in the headline and fit Putin into the story. That says something about the quality of the find.

Finally, the Sweden Democrats Must Be Involved

The most revealing part may be the ETC reporter’s final question to Kent Ekeroth. He isn’t satisfied with asking about advertising. He wants to know if Ekeroth has “informed the party” about the advertising partnership and if it’s compatible to “make money on such ads” while holding a position of trust for the Sweden Democrats.

Thus, the circle is complete. Ads for Swedish history books, via a few associative leaps, have become a matter of Nazism, antisemitism, Putin’s Russia, and finally, Ekeroth’s suitability as an elected Sweden Democrat.

READ ALSO: Here are ETC’s and SVT’s ‘mom-victim’ in the SD squabble—left-wing journalist with Antifa sympathies

It’s hard to see this as a serious review of the Swedish book market. It looks much more like political journalism with a predetermined goal.

Freedom of the Press Also Applies to People ETC Dislikes

The really interesting thing in this story is therefore not about Alternamedia. It’s about how far one is willing to go with the principle of guilt by association.

Samnytt will continue to judge ads based on what is actually advertised. We will not demand ideological purity certificates from every publisher and bookstore wanting to buy ad space. But we will not accept just any ad. And we do not endorse every line in every book we advertise for.

We will continue to criticize antisemitism when it comes from Nazis, Islamists, left-wing activists, or anyone else. At the same time, we will continue to defend the freedom of speech, press, and publishing—even for people whose opinions we hate. That also applies to Dagens ETC.

We do not demand that the newspaper stop publishing socialist literature. We do not demand that its advertisers be held accountable for ETC’s revolutionary history. We do not make every company that buys an ad there responsible for the newspaper’s political campaigns. And we do not hold the entire editorial staff responsible for one of its illustrators spitting at an elected politician’s face.

We really only ask for one thing—that ETC tries to apply the same standards to Samnytt as it wants to be judged by itself. That should not be too much to ask of a publication so keen to lecture others about morality.

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