Feb 28: Bad Baltic Takes- Not Again! Frick's operation in Sweden
Thread published on January 26, 2023
Bad Baltic Takes, Not Again! Frick’s operation in Sweden
The protest was conducted by far right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan. But, curiously, he said that his action was the idea of "some Swedes who would like me to burn a Koran in front of the Turkish embassy".
Well, here’s a clue as to who he’s talking about. According to Swedish media, the protest permit was paid for by Chang Frick, a “journalist” with an interesting background we should explore.
Chang Frick is a Putin supporter who worked for RT, has made multiple trips to Moscow, and set up his own “alternative” Swedish news site, Nyheter Idag.
Chang Frick appears in this 2019 investigation by the New York Times about how Russia was working to polarise Swedish society by staging provocations while also supporting the growth of far right media outlets that amplify them, like Frick’s Nyheter Idag.
Frick said another alternative Swedish news site, Exakt24, told him about the Danish politician’s plans and mentioned that he needed help to pay the fee because he couldn’t transfer the money to Sweden in time. So, Frick says, he paid it in order to support free expression.
But, when Exakt24 was approached for comment, they told a different story.
It was Frick who initially contacted them and said he wanted to find someone who’d burn the Koran - for which he’d offer to cover expenses. They recommended Paludan.
Sweden’s entry to NATO would have hugely positive security benefits for Europe and the world - especially in the Baltics. This incident played a key role in its attempted sabotage. Yet the connections to Russia are barely covered outside of Swedish media.
Yet this incident was initiated, facilitated, covered and amplified by a “journalist” with Kremlin connections, Kremlin financing, and Kremlin sympathies who has long worked within a much larger Kremlin plot to polarise Swedish society.
Of course, the Danish politician does this stuff already. And there were already tricky issues to resolve between Sweden and Turkey, in addition to cultural divisions relating to free expression. But these are resolvable.
The goal of Kremlin propaganda is to prise open divisions among its adversaries and polarise democratic societies, including by initiating provocations and amplifying fringe people as if they are important mainstream voices.
It’s why many of the Westerners who play their roles within this machine are just such mediocre individuals. They can’t make it on their own merits in politics or media in a free society so they’re propped up and amplified by the Kremlin.
The same pattern is being constantly repeated across Europe and around the world in order to support Kremlin narratives. This is just one of the most consequential. We should never have let it go this far.
It’s still not clear what outcome will be reached for Sweden’s NATO application. But if protestors in Turkey really wanted to stick it to the people who burnt the Koran, they should support the application.
This is the guy we’re talking about:
