Konspiratoriska narrativ om COVID-19 vaccinet: En jämförelse mellan Frihet Sverige och Ryssland

Sammanfattning

The paper's broader purpose is to explore how conspiracy narratives are used for influence operations. This is accomplished by comparing conspiracy narratives regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, being disseminated by the Swedish group Frihet Sverige in Eskilstuna, with narrative strategies being used toward Sweden, and narratives occurring in Russia. My first aim is to contribute with a local perspective on a frequently debated academic topic internationally. My second aim is to nuance the debate regarding the use of conspiracy narratives in information operations. Through narrative analysis I found how variants of the Swedish conspiracy narratives were also present in Russia. Recurring themes in both are corrupt supra-governmental elites vying for power while trying to control, poison, or diminish the population. Other similarities are themes such as nanotechnology, poison and secret medical experiments. Historically the KGB used disinformation through conspiracy narratives to further their goals. If Russian authorities are involved in disseminating conspiracy narratives regarding COVID-19 this seems to have backfired during the pandemic. This could be related to factors such as the changing media and information environment, social factors or the information vacuum during the pandemic itself.