SVT scandals continue to pile up – SD demands that the cultural committee summons the SVT management

The scandals continue to pile up at the Swedish Television. Recently, both a deceptive editing of Donald Trump’s widely publicized speech on January 6, 2021, and a sponsored trip for the SVT CEO’s wealthy husband to a luxurious ski resort in Switzerland have received strong criticism. It has now also been revealed that SVT Agenda used an AI-generated video clip to depict an alleged resistance among local police regarding ICE’s raids on illegal immigrants. The Sweden Democrats (SD) argue that there is a “systemic flaw” within SVT and demand that the cultural committee summons the management of the publicly funded broadcasting company.

In early November, it was revealed that a segment on the state television about Donald Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, had been edited in a manner reminiscent of BBC’s controversial – and labeled as “fake news” by critics – editing, where viewers were given a heavily distorted view of the speech’s content. By assembling selected parts of the speech, the impression was created that Trump urged the audience to storm the American parliament.

BBC’s handling of the speech led to the resignation of the TV company’s CEO Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness.

It was then revealed that the CEO of the state television, Anne Lagercrantz’s husband, David Lagercrantz, had been invited on a trip to the luxurious Swiss ski resort of Zermatt to participate in a “holiday program.”

SVT’s CEO Anne Lagercrantz’s husband is invited to Zermatt. Image: Doc Searls / SVT / Frankie Fouganthin.

The participation of David Lagercrantz, who is married to the CEO of SVT, has raised questions about conflicts of interest and how public service funds are used. Several of the participants, including Lagercrantz and pop singer Miriam Bryant, are multimillionaires with substantial incomes, which has intensified the debate about the costs of taxpayer-funded television.

AI fake became truth at SVT

It has also been brought to attention that SVT’s influential current affairs program Agenda, which covers current events, used an AI-generated video clip as genuine. This was done by airing the clip in the broadcast as an actual event.

In a longer Agenda report on the conflicts surrounding the deportations of illegal immigrants in the United States, which President Donald Trump has taken action on, SVT highlighted how the federal agency ICE had come into conflict with local police in several Democrat-controlled cities.

As part of SVT’s news coverage, an AI-generated video clip was used to reinforce the claim. A video clip that is clearly AI-generated and depicted a police officer in New York scolding an ICE agent.

“It is unfortunate that we have inadvertently published an AI-generated clip. The audience should always be able to trust that images in Agenda are authentic. We are now reviewing our procedures to ensure that similar errors do not occur in the future,” said Agenda’s responsible editor Michael Kucera in a statement about their fake news.

Riks has seen the clip and can show it:

SD: Systemic flaw

In a press release on Monday, the Sweden Democrats announced that their cultural policy spokesperson Alexander Christiansson has submitted a request to summon the leadership of SVT to the parliament to explain how these decisions could have been made, what internal deficiencies enabled them, and what measures have been taken or will be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

This comes against the backdrop of the recent serious events that have raised questions about governance, control, and accountability at the highest level. The events involve misleading editing resulting in pure disinformation, the use of AI-generated material presented as fact, and suspicions of nepotism within the leadership.

With the election looming, it is particularly important that the public can trust that SVT delivers factual and impartial journalism. Voters must be able to assume that the reporting is free from disinformation and internal considerations.

“The information that has reached us is very serious and indicates a systemic flaw within SVT. This must be rectified immediately, especially considering the upcoming election campaign,” said Alexander Christiansson (SD) and continued:

“The Swedish people must be able to trust their public service – and they must know that the Sweden Democrats always prioritize citizens and taxpayers. Taxpayer-funded resources should go towards factual journalism and an impartial mission, which is fundamental for our democracy.”