Russia spreading 'fake news' in Arab world about Sweden Quran burnings

Russia is using its vast media empire to spread "fake news" in the Arab world about Quran burnings in Sweden, according to media reports, with the aim of scuppering Stockholm's bid to join NATO.

The RT and Sputnik media outlets, which have millions of Arabic-speaking readers and viewers, have falsely claimed that the Swedish government supports the recent desecration of the Muslim holy book by far-right activists, The Guardian said.

The incendiary coverage from Russian media came after Sweden sought NATO membership following Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Stockholm has faced flak from some Arab states, notably Iraq, after authorities allowed two Iraqi men, Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem, to torch a Quran outside a mosque, while NATO member Turkey has also slammed the recent burnings in Sweden and Denmark.

Although the Swedish government condemned the desecration, it has argued that its free speech laws mean the far-right demonstrations cannot be banned, despite Muslims viewing the acts as highly offensive and reprehensible.

Russian media have disseminated false stories saying that the Swedish government in fact backed the burnings, perhaps as a way of driving a wedge between the European country and Muslim-majority countries, including Turkey.

The reports have contributed to growing anger in the MENA region against Stockholm, according to the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency, and may have played a role in the torching of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad last month.

"They [Russian media] repeat narratives that Sweden supports the burning of the Quran and that Sweden is an Islamophobic country and hostile against Islam," Mikael Östlund, a spokesperson for the agency, which is linked to the Swedish ministry of defence, told The Guardian.

"We're not very surprised because Russia is using narratives that make Sweden look bad and make it harder to join NATO."

Östlund blamed RT and Sputnik in particular, which have sizable followings in the Arab world, for spreading fake news about Sweden.

"Those channels have had several posts with those narratives since June and July in Arabic. So obviously they want to make themselves heard among Arabic-speaking people," he said.

Iraq has called on Sweden to extradite Salwan Momika, an Iraqi who burned the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque this week. It comes after Iraqi protesters breached Sweden's embassy in Baghdad yesterday, spraying "Yes, yes to the Quran" on the compound's gates 👇

🎥: @Reemkhabbazy pic.twitter.com/v55DLiZYg3

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 30, 2023

Östlund also claimed that instructions for the negative coverage about Sweden appears to be coming directly from the Kremlin.

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has accused foreign powers of spreading "hateful messages" about the country.

He claimed that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) call for the UN to intervene in the Quran burnings was "dragging Sweden into international conflicts".

Some media analysts have pointed out that although Denmark has also seen Quran burnings, Russian media have focused almost primarily on the events in Sweden.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, RT and Sputnik have been banned in the EU and UK, who say the media outlets spread disinformation and act as a mouthpiece for the Kremlin.

Russian media have been accused of spreading fake news throughout the Syria war, including false claims by Moscow that a series of chemical attacks on opposition areas were carried out by rebels.