Abstract
In the first month of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Sweden took the same strategy as most other countries, working to “flatten the curve,” by slowing transmission so that the healthcare system could cope with the disease. However, unlike most other countries, much of Sweden’s implementation focused on voluntary and stepwise action, rather than legislation and compulsory measures, leading to considerable attention in the international media.Six main narratives emerged in the international media reporting on Sweden during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) Life is normal in Sweden, (2) Sweden has a herd immunity strategy, (3) Sweden is not following expert advice, (4) Sweden is not following WHO recommendations (5) the Swedish approach is failing and (6) Swedes trust the government. While these narratives are partially grounded in reality, in some media outlets, the language and examples used to frame the story distorted the accuracy of the reporting.This debate examines the ways in which international media both constructs and represents a pandemic, and the implications for how researchers engage with news and social media. Cross-country comparison and the sharing of best practice are reliant on accurate information. The Swedish example underlines the importance of fact checking and source critique and the need for precision when presenting data and statistics. It also highlights limitations of using culture as an explanation for behavior, and the pitfalls of evaluating policy during a pandemic.
Highlights
I carried out a rapid review of mainstream Swedish and international news, focusing on the month following the World Health Organization (WHO)’s decision to characterize COVID-19 as a pandemic (11 March 2020) (Table 2).I started with the websites of three Swedish morning newspapers: Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet are national papers, while Sydvenskan is a regional newspaper for Skåne
Using the example of international reporting on Sweden’s COVID-19 response, in this debate I examine the ways in which the international media both constructs and represents a pandemic
In the media reporting of the “Swedish experiment” six main narratives emerged which I discuss in the sections that follow (1) Life is normal in Sweden, (2) Sweden has a herd immunity strategy, (3) Sweden is not following expert advice, (4) Sweden is not following WHO recommendations (4) the Swedish approach is failing and (6) Swedes trust the government
Summary
During the early stages of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, many governments and public health experts were focused on finding best practices in controlling the spread of the disease. Sweden is often discussed as a “peculiar country in the north where everything is either perfect paradise or a collapsing hellhole.” [4] While the context of COVID-19 is different, many of the same mechanisms are at work here This polarized view of Sweden is exemplified by two articles: three days before The Guardian reported that “Swedish PM warned over ‘Russian roulette-style’ COVID-19 strategy”, it had published a story covering southern Sweden’s emerging wine industry [5, 6]. In the media reporting of the “Swedish experiment” six main narratives emerged which I discuss in the sections that follow (1) Life is normal in Sweden, (2) Sweden has a herd immunity strategy, (3) Sweden is not following expert advice, (4) Sweden is not following WHO recommendations (4) the Swedish approach is failing and (6) Swedes trust the government. While these narratives are partially grounded in reality, in some media outlets, the language and examples used to frame the story distorted the accuracy of the reporting
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
