It started as a rumor in social media, but now even Arab TV channels like Al Jazeera have reported that social authorities in Sweden kidnap children, preferably from Muslim families.
Old Malmö video is spread with false information
A film that has spread is the news from 2015 when a young boy is pushed down to the floor by a guard at Malmö Central Station.
Now it is wrongly claimed in a video on Youtube that the boy escaped from his kidnappers at the social services office and was on his way by train home to his family.
The truth is that the boy came to Sweden as a loner and escaped from an HVB home.
The Social Administration in Malmö: "Precarious security situation"
Malmö's social administration does not want to comment to the media on how the spread of rumors has affected the administration.
- It is a very precarious security situation, says Örjan Eskengren, communicator at the social administration.
Per-Erik Ebbeståhl is responsible for security issues in the city of Malmö.
He believes that national authorities must act to counter the spread of rumors.
- This is not specifically a Malmö issue.
We see it as a national event.
The nation is vulnerable and the nation must communicate this, says Ebbeståhl.
Wants to respond to the spread of rumors
According to Ebbeståhl, discussions are underway in Sweden's municipalities and regions, SKR, about how the spread of rumors in the Arab world should be addressed.
The National Board of Health and Welfare and the Swedish Agency for Psychological Defense are also involved in the talks.
The situation is particularly serious when even media such as Al Jazeera have begun to report on the kidnapping of children in Sweden, says Per-Erik Ebbståhl.
- The greater the spread, the more important it is to correct the information with facts as soon as possible.
The independent media house Alkompis which makes news and community information for an Arabic-speaking audience in Sweden. They have noticed that the campaign has gained extra momentum in recent weeks:
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"There is a distrust of the social services, which is used by extreme forces," says Julia Agha, CEO of the Arabic-language media house Alkompis.
Photo: TT / Erik Mårtensson Göran Lidén / SVT