Sweden Democrat has close ties to far-right site
Sweden Democrat politician Kent Ekeroth is closely involved in the running of a notorious anti-immigrant website and exerts influence over editorial content, according to media revelations on Thursday.
Ekeroth, who retained his parliamentary seat despite being one of the protagonists in the so-called "iron-bar scandal" involving leading Sweden Democrats, has previously claimed that he only assists Avpixlat with fundraising.
But an email correspondence published by the Aftonbladet daily on Thursday shows that Ekeroth communicates with editors regarding the content and presentation of the website that typically publishes a strongly anti-immigrant bias.
"Come on now - make the site more interesting and alive. It looks dead at the moment," reads one of the email sent by Ekeroth to Avpixlat.
Ekeroth has also provided Axpixlat with links to YouTube clips which have appeared on the site shortly after, Aftonbladet revealed.
The Local reported last week that Ekeroth had been ordered to pay 160,921 kronor ($25,000) in taxes for money sent to his bank account as donations to Avpixlat and its predecessor Politiskt Inkorrekt.
While Ekeroth stated in correspondence with the Tax Agency that he had neither insight nor influence on how the funds are used, the money was classified as income, with tax authorities deeming the set-up to be a "passive business".
Avpixlat's main administrator Mats Dagerlind has repeatedly denied that Ekeroth has any central role in the management of the website.
The site's name literally translates as "unpixelated", but is also a Swedish colloquialism meaning to "reveal" or "unmask" and one of the most common recurring themes on the site is publish photos of suspected criminals of foreign origin.
The website furthermore contains material which echoes the Sweden Democrat party's negative line on immigration, multicultural society, and the mainstream Swedish media.
The Local's attempts to reach Kent Ekeroth and the Sweden Democrats for comment on Thursday were unsuccessful.
TT/The Local/pvs
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Ekeroth, who retained his parliamentary seat despite being one of the protagonists in the so-called "iron-bar scandal" involving leading Sweden Democrats, has previously claimed that he only assists Avpixlat with fundraising.
But an email correspondence published by the Aftonbladet daily on Thursday shows that Ekeroth communicates with editors regarding the content and presentation of the website that typically publishes a strongly anti-immigrant bias.
"Come on now - make the site more interesting and alive. It looks dead at the moment," reads one of the email sent by Ekeroth to Avpixlat.
Ekeroth has also provided Axpixlat with links to YouTube clips which have appeared on the site shortly after, Aftonbladet revealed.
The Local reported last week that Ekeroth had been ordered to pay 160,921 kronor ($25,000) in taxes for money sent to his bank account as donations to Avpixlat and its predecessor Politiskt Inkorrekt.
While Ekeroth stated in correspondence with the Tax Agency that he had neither insight nor influence on how the funds are used, the money was classified as income, with tax authorities deeming the set-up to be a "passive business".
Avpixlat's main administrator Mats Dagerlind has repeatedly denied that Ekeroth has any central role in the management of the website.
The site's name literally translates as "unpixelated", but is also a Swedish colloquialism meaning to "reveal" or "unmask" and one of the most common recurring themes on the site is publish photos of suspected criminals of foreign origin.
The website furthermore contains material which echoes the Sweden Democrat party's negative line on immigration, multicultural society, and the mainstream Swedish media.
The Local's attempts to reach Kent Ekeroth and the Sweden Democrats for comment on Thursday were unsuccessful.
TT/The Local/pvs
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