{"id":2134,"date":"2018-09-19T13:46:06","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T13:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/?p=2134"},"modified":"2018-09-19T13:46:06","modified_gmt":"2018-09-19T13:46:06","slug":"sweden-to-end-twitter-experiment-letting-ordinary-people-be-nations-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/2018\/09\/19\/sweden-to-end-twitter-experiment-letting-ordinary-people-be-nations-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden to End Twitter Experiment Letting Ordinary People Be Nation\u2019s Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"css-sb57iz e345g291\">\n<div class=\"css-30n6iy e345g290\">\n<div class=\"css-acwcvw\">\n<div class=\"css-pqwbx7 e1hs04dy0\">\n<div class=\"css-1baulvz\">\n<p class=\"css-1cbhw1y e1x1pwtg1\">By\u00a0<span class=\"css-1baulvz\">Christina Anderson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"css-lyagax\">\n<li>Sept. 16, 2018\n<div class=\"css-hn080\" role=\"toolbar\"><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-1h6whtw\">\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">STOCKHOLM \u2014 It was a radical experiment in free speech, even for Sweden: Give ordinary and not-so-ordinary people the chance to be, more or less, the official voice of a nation. After seven years of Twitter posts on topics as varied as manga comics, ugly sweaters and the dangers of prescription drugs, Sweden is calling it quits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Since 2011, control of the Twitter account\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sweden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@sweden<\/a>\u00a0has been handed to a different person each week, allowing the curators to tweet about almost anything they please. At the end of September, after\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/curatorsofsweden.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">356 curators\u00a0<\/a>and more than 200,000 tweets, the experiment will end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The messages, largely in English, have ranged from<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/06\/11\/world\/europe\/many-voices-of-sweden-via-twitter.html\">\u00a0didactic to deeply personal, polite to racy<\/a>. Along the way, @sweden has provoked heads of state, stirred controversy, got laughs, earned 147,000 followers and even drew some imitators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Finland and Ukraine began @peopleoffinland and @Ukraine. The late-night TV host Stephen Colbert even\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/live-feed\/sweden-denies-stephen-colbert-twitter-343534\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tried to become a curator for @sweden<\/a>, but not being Swedish, he did not qualify.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-14jsv4e\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-1-wrapper\" class=\"ResponsiveAd-flexFrame--1PVri ResponsiveAd-storyBodyAd--35v2w\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-1-slug\" class=\"ResponsiveAd-adSlug--3H3QM\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad story-ad-1-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-1\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/29390238\/nyt\/world\/europe_4__container__\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">The Swedish Institute, a government agency dedicated to promoting the country abroad, and Visit Sweden, a tourism group, created the campaign as a way to show the world Sweden and the spirit of \u201copenness and transparency\u201d in a country that has had an anti-censorship law since 1766.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-1h6whtw\">\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Two years ago, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of that law, the Swedish Tourist Association created<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theswedishnumber.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0a phone line<\/a>\u00a0that people around the world could call t<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/04\/09\/world\/europe\/sweden-call-random-swede-number.html\">o be connected to a random Swede<\/a>\u00a0and ask questions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-rpp6yo\">\n<div class=\"css-10klw3m vi_inline\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">\u201cThe idea of one Swede every week was a way of making it authentic and show the openness of how we try to communicate and do things together with people, with a lot interaction and engagement,\u201d said Anna Rudels, the head of communication and digitalization at the Swedish Institute, said of the Twitter project.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The curators are chosen by a committee \u2014 the youngest was 15, the oldest 81 \u2014 and each new one became a mini-celebrity. Many used the opportunity to indulge in their favorite subjects or causes \u2014 environmental sustainability, linguistics and food were popular topics \u2014 while others just chronicled their lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Others aimed for the provocative, or achieved it without trying. The first curator, Jack Werner, gave a frank account of his favorite pastimes, earning him the nickname \u201cthe masturbating Swede.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-1h6whtw\">\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The biggest headlines, said Ms. Rudels, came in the wake of President Trump\u2019s \u201clast night in Sweden\u201d remark in February 2017, when he seemed to suggest that something terrible had happened,\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/02\/19\/world\/europe\/last-night-in-sweden-trumps-remark-baffles-a-nation.html\">baffling people in Sweden<\/a>, where nothing much had happened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Max Karlsson, who was 22 at the time, took over curatorship two days later. He had planned to tweet about architecture, his friends and life as a paralegal in Stockholm. But \u201cthen this came,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Karlsson thought about handling the situation with humor. Instead, he ended up using the account as a\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/curatorsofsweden.com\/curator\/max-karlsson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">vehicle for fact-checking<\/a>, trying to answer a wave of questions about false news, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">\u201cEverything I posted during the week was public record and data,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just a 22-year-old regular guy from the suburbs of Stockholm, but I have access to public data, and I used the internet and information technology to spread these facts around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Many of the people who responded were from the United States, he said, adding, \u201cI had a lot of great interactions with Trump voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The rules of @sweden are simple: Do not violate Swedish law, do not promote commercial brands and do not present a security threat. Curators are also asked to mind their language, respect other people\u2019s views and refrain from sharing racist, sexist or homophobic sentiments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The Swedish Institute has deleted only seven tweets, Ms. Rudels said \u2014 three of them for copyright infringement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-14jsv4e\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-3-wrapper\" class=\"ResponsiveAd-flexFrame--1PVri ResponsiveAd-storyBodyAd--35v2w\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-3-slug\" class=\"ResponsiveAd-adSlug--3H3QM\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad story-ad-3-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-3\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/29390238\/nyt\/world\/europe_6__container__\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">But there have been controversies, and curators have been encouraged to add the hashtag #myownview to threads. At times, curators received hateful comments, particularly when they wrote about feminism or lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. In 2016, administrators noticed an upswing in angry attacks.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-1h6whtw\">\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">\u201cEarlier, the worry was that the curator would write something that crossed a line,\u201d Emma Randecker, who administered the account, told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter in October 2016. \u201cBut now, that has changed and followers are interacting with the account in a way that crosses the line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Administrators added an alarm function that alerted them to an abnormal amount of activity on the account. A curator can block hateful or threatening followers from commenting, but when that person\u2019s week is over, the accounts are unblocked again, Dagens Nyheter reported.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Asked if it was scary to let ordinary citizens be the voice of Sweden, Ms. Rudels said: \u201cYes, of course! And that has been the greatest thing that we have learned. Being on social media is to let go of control, but if you want to show Sweden as an open country, this is how to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">She said @sweden is being shut down because its creators wanted to broaden their scope. Most of the account\u2019s followers come from Sweden, Britain and the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">\u201cThe geographical reach is too limited,\u201d she said. \u201cNow we want to find the new thing, that will reach more people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Christina Anderson Sept. 16, 2018 STOCKHOLM \u2014 It was a radical experiment in free speech, even for Sweden: Give ordinary and not-so-ordinary people the chance to be, more or less, the official voice of a nation. After seven years of Twitter posts on topics as varied as manga comics, ugly sweaters and the dangers of prescription drugs, Sweden is calling&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/2018\/09\/19\/sweden-to-end-twitter-experiment-letting-ordinary-people-be-nations-voice\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-2134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-ny-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2137,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134\/revisions\/2137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}