Advertisement

Swedish journalists hijacked on Twitter

Karen Holst
Karen Holst - [email protected]
Swedish journalists hijacked on Twitter

Several well-known journalists in Sweden have had their identities falsely used on Twitter to broadcast a slew of racist remarks.

Advertisement

The social media highjackings took place Friday when someone initiated accounts on the micro-blog Twitter and used identities similar to those of well-known Swedish journalists, according to Sveriges Television (SVT).

Among those affected include TV4's Lena Sundström, magazine Expos Alexander Bengtsson and Aftonbladet editor Jan Helin.

The alter-ego posts, or tweets, exhume xenophobic and racist banter, such as "Do you want a job as an editorial writer at Aftonbladet? Unfortunately, we only hire white ethnic Swedes and hypocrites," reported SVT.

Other tweets tended to be more explicit in their racial content making reference to Islam and suicide bombers.

“Twitter is an amazing medium that provides a lot of opportunities, but there is a dark backside when it is abused like this,” Helin told SVT.

Twitter hijacking is not an uncommon assault. Hijackers use the same name, image and title to mimic those they wish to scorch and slander.

For example, Jan Helin’s alter ego employed both the same image and title, Editor of Aftonbladet, but the only difference between the two on-line identities is an underscore between his first and last names.

The real Twitter accounts of the journalists appear as #LenaSundstrom, #AlexBengtsson and #JanHelin.

Although the tweet contents were erased Friday, the highjacked accounts were still present Saturday morning.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also