Kjell Engelbrekt has followed developments in the USA over the past 24 hours.

He says that it is not possible to make a diagnosis in a few hours, but some things are clear.

- It is obvious that social media played a role, probably for weeks, months and even years to create the atmosphere that was required for this to happen.

He continues:

Without Twitter, this president has not had the impact he has had.

Twitter has been extremely significant.

Twitter closed the president's account last night.

Everyone is convinced that the president's tweeting has strongly contributed to this kind of behavior, says Kjell Engelbrekt, who specializes in American defense and security policy.

President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon runs the podcast War Room and is singled out as a participant.

Photo: AP 20 August 2020

Bannons podd

Trump's former campaign manager Steve Bannon also plays a key role in crowds storming into the US Congress on Wednesday, according to Professor Engelbrekt.

Bannon resigned after the scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica and Facebook.

He was then the White House chief strategist, but still has close ties to Trump.

Steve Bannon runs a legal platform called Breitbart.

In recent months, he has had a podcast called War Room, which has been broadcast in 635 episodes.

- Just a few days ago, Bannon and several others pointed out in almost prophetic terms what would happen in the next few weeks, and that Trump will be installed, as well as what will happen on January 6

,

says Kjell Engelbrekt.

So you mean the White House is behind what happened?

- Trump is definitely behind this, but he is not solely responsible.

It's his Twitter account and it's clearly Trump who has urged his constituents to turn to and consume these alternative sources.

- The alternative news sources then relate in a way that is very close to the message that Trump is saying.

Engelbrekt also mentions Newsmax's spreads because Trump said he could not trust Fox News.

Youtube and Facebook have probably also been important for the development.

Gray zone problem

However, it is too early to comment on whether foreign powers have exercised influence operations, Engelbrekt believes. 

- To the extent that there are gray area problems, the aim has been to blacken the image of American democracy.

It is, of course, an intelligence target for some countries, but it is too early to say whether it has been a factor here.