The recent article (see earlier post) by Britta Svensson started a discussion about the role of official media and journalists. And the role of Facebook and blogs like this one.

It is well-known that Facebook has become a playground for all sorts of hate groups. Anybody can start a group within minutes. The murder of the 78-year-old woman sparkled more than one of these groups, targeting the 23-year-old man accused of the assault.

Swedish press rarely publish name and photo of suspects. But since many documents are public, anybody can get hold of the name. And then the search is on for a photo.

A man living in Denmark and with the same name as the accused, found that his photo was connected to the accused in one of these hate groups. Someone got to eager finding a picture. And got the wrong one. The man stands alone when he is trying to get his name cleared.

Does this mean that internet requires regulation, just as film, television and computer games? If so, where should the line be drawn?

And is right to blame a technology company like Facebook?

I think we need to realize that people today turn elsewhere for information. Leaving a gap between trusted media and other sources. And this gap is widening. A reason for concern for journalists like Britta Svensson?

Read more about the Danish man who got his identity mixed up with the accused: SVD (in swedish).

Expressen Web Page

Read the background on the murder of a 78-year-old woman in Sweden in this post.

Today, Britta Svensson, a journalist at one of the largest news papers in Sweden, Expressen, writes a long article about the case.

She seems upset because the image of Ahmad Akileh does not match her image of a killer. And because he is not allowed to speak to his wife, that shows up in the court room with a baby of one moth of age. The wife burst into tears and police force her to leave.

Britta Svensson writes: “The 23-year-old turns and his eyes are black with despair. His young wife tries to break through, but the police stops her. The man who has just been arrested on suspicion of aggravated manslaughter can not hold her baby.”

Svensson is, in other words, trying to paint the picture of a perpetrator being a victim. This is not uncommon in Swedish press. In fact, I have a feeling, this has been common since late sixties when there was a general perception of criminals as victims.

But I doubt that the public today, in general, see perpetrators as victims.

Isn’t it true that everybody make choices, and all choices have consequences? But that some people think they will get away with anything?

So far, the accused have not given his side of the story. He still denies, even though police says they have solved the case.

Britta Svensson doesn’t write a word about despair in the eyes of a husband that just lost a wife. Not a word about the despair of friends or relatives that can no longer hold or see a woman who was brutally beaten to death.

And not a word about why this happened. Not a word about the fact that Ahmad Akileh is from another culture, and that maybe, just maybe, this has something to do with the brutal assault.

Isn’t that what we expect of a journalist?

Or is it possible that we no longer care? I mean, people with blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts are creating their own truth. Do they even read what Svensson writes?

Sources (and more reading for those of you who read swedish):

• Svensson’s Article
• Politisktinkorrekt.info
• Carina Rydberg at Newsmill