Gellert Tamas responds to the criticism

Assignment review program "The Game of the Apathetic Children" from 2006 aimed to review a state investigation that had been made regarding asylum-seeking children with fatigue syndrome.

Last year, the Filter magazine highlighted the program in a major review, and now journalist Johan Åsard strongly criticizes the program in a new report, commissioned by UG's own editorial staff. He says, among other things, that the journalists behind the program were only seeking information and facts that confirmed the view they already had - that the image of children who were manipulated into acting apathetic was completely false.

Reporter Gellert Tamas, who worked with the criticized UG program, turns to Johan Åsard's report in an 18-page comment. He believes that UG decided to review the state investigation on the apathetic children because in 2006 there was a discussion in the media that the children were forced to fake. According to Tamas, UG's intention was simply to find out how many cases of confirmed manipulation there actually were.

He emphasizes that UG did not dismiss manipulation as a possible explanation for the children's symptoms, but that no research was found in the research work.

In addition, Gellert Tamas questions why UG has appointed its own review of the program when it has already been reviewed and released by the Review Board when it began.

Johan Åsard writes that "It is difficult to imagine that UG would initiate an investigation where it was seriously expected that eventually a large number of asylum-seeking refugee families could be identified as simulators and scammers".

According to Gellert Tamas, Johan Åsard expresses a "classic conspiracy theory on the far right" and writes further: "That this type of conspiracy theories flow on social media and in so-called alternative media linked to the Swedish extreme right is one thing, but that the same The thinking so openly expressed in a journalistic review, commissioned and paid for by Sweden Television is extremely remarkable. "

• According to Åsard: UG claims that the state investigation neglected international research. UG quotes a British psychiatrist who was never contacted by the state investigation. This is true but meaningless and misleading as the investigation has nevertheless taken part in the psychiatrist's research. According to Tamas: UG never expressed itself so categorically that it could be perceived as the state "failed international research". The British psychiatrist was never critical of the fact that the state investigation did not take part in his research, but that he was never contacted in person and given the opportunity to advise on the investigation.
  
• According to Åsard: In an interview with UG, a prison chief stated that he had not seen any reports that apathetic children had become better at rejecting asylum. This is insignificant and does not prove anything because the current reports did not regularly contain health status listings. According to Tamas: The interview with the chief of police was aimed at a statement from a minister, who stated that she cited a report that apathetic children had become better at rejecting asylum. No such report could be found, and the chief of the Prison and Probation Service could not recall having read any.

SVT News has applied for Gellert Tamas, which refers to the Assignment Review blog post on the Gellert Tamas report.

Read a summary of the criticism of the UG program here.