- What we see is that social media plays a more prominent role in this year's election and I think it will be even more important for the 2026 election, says Björn Appelgren, public education manager at the Internet Foundation who has followed the development since the 2014 election. 

Ahead of the autumn elections, young people who can vote for the first time will receive a majority of their political information from social media, according to a new report from the Internet Foundation.

One of the Swedish social media profiles that produces content before the election is the influencer Margaux Dietz.

Among other things, she interviews all party leaders in something called "party temp".

- I do the party temp because many young people take their information from social media, especially the first- and second-time voters.

My followers know that I am not a journalist but that I do it in a way that is easy to understand, says Margaux Dietz.

The Internet Foundation's investigation gives her the right.

Four out of ten first-time voters state that they receive political information on social media on a daily basis.

Older voters still use mainly traditional media. 

Low confidence

- This may mean that those who are on social media get a different picture of how the political landscape is shaped, compared to those who mainly use traditional media, says Appelgren.

Although social media is a particularly important channel for first-time voters, their confidence is in the political information that comes from there and significantly higher in traditional media.

This is despite the fact that much of what they encounter on social media is shared articles from traditional media. 

- It's a lot about how we look at social media and how it is discussed in the public debate.

Social media is not always viewed lightly, says Appelgren.

Trying to influence others

First-time voters are also more active in discussions on social media.

They try to influence others more politically and more often share political content.

But when social media becomes an increasingly central platform for politicians to reach those who are to vote for the first time, a number of challenges also arise, according to Björn Appelgren.  

- For the sender, it is a challenge to find the right group of voters and be able to adapt their information to that channel.

For those who receive political information, it is of a source-critical nature - is this political information reliable?