Type of site | Internet encyclopedia |
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Available in | English, German, Spanish, Swedish, French, Norwegian, Greek, Romanian, Estonian, Slovak, Czech, Portuguese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch |
Owner | NFSE Media AB, Linköping, Sweden |
URL | en |
Commercial | No |
Registration | Optional, via e-mail (required for editing) |
Launched | 26 October 2006 |
Current status | Active |
Content license | GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 |
Part of a series on |
Antisemitism |
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Category |
Metapedia is an online wiki-based encyclopedia. Its views have been described by many as fascist, far-right, white nationalist, white supremacist, anti-feminist, homophobic, Islamophobic, anti-semitic, Holocaust-denying and neo-Nazi. It is considered as a fork of Wikipedia.
The Swedish Metapedia was founded in 2006 by Anders Lagerström (born October 14, 1977), a neo-Nazi publisher from Linköping, Sweden. [1] [2] About Lagerström, the Swedish newspaper Östgöta Correspondenten wrote:
Anders Lagerström has long been involved in extreme right-wing organizations. In 2000, he was convicted of spraying tear gas in the face of a police officer. In 2002 he started the Nordic publishing house, which specializes in issuing and selling Nazi literature and white power music. Lagerström is also a prominent figure in the Nordic Federation . The Nazi organization seems to be creating a "Nordic nation state". The organization's website says the following about how this imaginary nation should look: "It means a society populated by a people, and a state power and mass media entirely under Nordic control." [3]
Swedish historian Rasmus Fleischer wrote:
In 2007, another network began to crystallize within Europe's radical right but with a vastly different ideological character. Activists from the Swedish group Nordiska Förbundet made a coordinated effort to use the internet to propagate a more 'positive' image of neo fascist [ sic ], third position and national revolutionary politics. They created a blog portal (Motpol.nu), a web community (Nordisk.nu) and a wiki site (Metapedia). Today there exist a dozen editions of Metapedia, making it a vital medium for dissemination of the ideology labeled here as "multi-fascism". Metapedia tends to promote antisemitism in a cautious way, not stating too much in words but instead using the hyperlinked wiki format to make insinuations about a Jewish conspiracy. [4]
Metapedia describes itself as being an alternative to Wikipedia that focuses on culture, art, science, history, politics and philosophy. The site has more than 4,500 articles in English; topics covered include European history and politics. [5] According to Crítica de la Argentina , Metapedia has glowing descriptions of Adolf Hitler and other Nazi figures. [6] The historian Daniel Goldhagen describes it as seeking "to create (currently in 18 languages) an anti-Semitic informational universe." [7] Metapedia calls the Holocaust a genocide only according to "politically correct history" and refers to former U.S. President Barack Obama as a "mixed race former president". [8] Its content has been noted for its fascist, far-right, white nationalist, white supremacist, anti-feminist, homophobic, Islamophobic, anti-semitic, Holocaust-denying, and neo-Nazi points of view. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
The wiki covers a total of 17 languages, with German Metapedia being the most developed. [14]
According to the North Rhine-Westphalian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Metapedia's articles are characterized by historical negationism and lauding Nazi Germany. [13] [2] For this reason, the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien) started an indexing process, which would consider as to whether Metapedia is "harmful to young people". [15] [ needs update ]
In early 2007, within half a year of the launching of the original Swedish edition, Metapedia received much Swedish media attention for its similarity to Wikipedia (it uses MediaWiki, the same software as Wikipedia and so has a similar visual style) and some of its contents, in particular for its positive characterization of many Nazi German personalities, for cataloguing Jews in Swedish media, and for characterizing Swedish companies as either "Swedish-owned" or "Jewish-owned". [16] [17] This led to an investigation by the Chancellor of Justice (Justitiekanslern) to decide whether the site should be prosecuted for inciting hatred or for violating the Swedish Privacy Law ( Personuppgiftslagen ). [18] After reviewing the site's contents, the Chancellor of Justice decided to terminate investigations, since nothing had been found that violated the Freedom of Speech Act ( Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen ) or the Privacy Law. [19] In January 2009, in a response to further attention given to the site, the Swedish Chancellor of Justice opined that Metapedia presented a positive image of Adolf Hitler, but decided not to restart an investigation since this was not illegal. [20]
In a June 2017 article, Alexis Sobel Fitts from Wired noted that the Hungarian and German Metapedia are "especially popular". [8] As of 2022, the Hungarian version is closed.
Metapedia runs on MediaWiki, a free and open-source wiki software platform written in PHP and built upon the MySQL database. [15] [21] [22]
Metapedia is headed by Lagerström and Lennart Berg, who also runs the supporting NFSE Media AB. [18]
The Sweden Democrats is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing bloc and the second-largest party in the Riksdag. It provides confidence and supply to the centre-right ruling coalition. Within the European Union, the party is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party.
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Östgöta Correspondenten, commonly known as Corren, is a daily Swedish language newspaper in Linköping, Sweden.
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Until the late 2000s, terrorism in Sweden was not seen as a serious threat to the security of the state. However, there has been a rise in far right and Islamist terrorist activity in the 21st century.
Barbro Charlotte Rohlin is a Swedish former footballer who played as a defender and captained Damallsvenskan club Linköpings FC. She won 77 caps for the Sweden women's national football team between 2007 and 2015.
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The Antifascistisk aktion (AFA) is a far-left, extra-parliamentary, anti-fascist movement in Sweden, whose stated goal is to "smash fascism in all its forms". The purpose of the organization is to exchange information and to coordinate activities between local groups.
The Nordic Resistance Movement is a pan-Nordic neo-Nazi movement in the Nordic countries and a political party in Sweden. Besides Sweden, it is established in Norway, Denmark and Iceland, and formerly in Finland before it was banned in 2019. Terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp has described the NRM as a terrorist organization due to their aim of abolishing democracy along with their paramilitary activities and weapons caches. In 2022, some members of the United States Congress began calling for the organization to be added to the United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. On 14 June 2024, the United States Department of State designated NRM and its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).
The Malexander murders were the murders of two police officers, Robert Karlström and Olle Borén, at Malexander, Sweden, on 28 May 1999. The murders were committed after a bank robbery in Kisa earlier that day. Three men were convicted of the crimes, Tony Olsson, Andreas Axelsson and former mercenary Jackie Arklöv. The murders in Malexander were among the most high-profile cases in Sweden. The three perpetrators were active neo-Nazis and the robbery spree before the murders was committed as part of their plan to collect money to fund and create a "revolutionary" Nazi organization.
Mattias Löw is a Swedish film director, documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Stockholm and Motala, who specializes in social issues documentaries and documentary photography. He gives lectures and workshops on the topics of storytelling and documentary filmmaking, in addition to occasional acting. His photographs from Burning Man, a week-long large-scale desert event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance, has been published and exhibited in various art galleries and museums around the world.
Sara Magdalena Skyttedal is a Swedish politician previously of the Christian Democrats party. She was Member of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2024.
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The Revolutionary Front was a far-left extremist political and militant network in Sweden. The goal of the RF was to dismantle the current society through a revolution and create a socialist state. The group fought against fascism, racism, sexism and capitalism, and campaigned through violent means.
Ingvar Svensson is a Swedish former footballer and manager who played as a midfielder and made six appearances for the Sweden national team.
The Svea Logistic Corps was a Swedish Army logistic corps operating between 1891 and 1997. The unit was based in Linköping.
Karin Hedvig Viveka Adelswärd, née Lindegren, is a Swedish baroness, linguist and professor emerita in conversation analysis. Upon her retirement, she worked at the Department of Theme Communication at Linköping University. Adelswärd wrote Svenska Dagbladet's column Språkspalten in 1995–2011 and wrote columns in Östgöta Correspondent.