Steigan.no
| You gotta spin it to win it Media |
|
| Stop the presses! |
| We want pictures of Spider-Man! |
| Extra! Extra! |
Steigan.no is a Norwegian "anti-globalist" alternative news site that is often described as "red-brown."[1][2] It is known for promoting Russian propaganda, conspiracy theories, racism and transphobia.[3][4] It is one of the largest conspiracy theorist websites in Scandinavia, and is somewhat similar to Globalresearch. It is also associated with the "Mot Dag" red-brown conference, that has so far typically featured Nazis, tankies, pro-Assad conspiracy theorists and TERFs.[2]
Content[edit]
The website was founded by former Maoist politician Pål Steigan
(1949–). Extremism researcher and skeptic John Færseth describes the website as a platform of conspiracy theories and pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda.[5][6] It has also been described as an example of "red–brown convergence" (far-left with far-right, or Third Positionism), with links to the alt-right.[2]
Norwegian government-supported fact checking website Faktisk.no stated that Steigan is part of a far-right/alternative echo chamber that also includes Document.no, Resett.no, Rights.no, and Lykten.no, and where individuals linked to SIAN (Stop Islamisation of Norway) play a key role.[7] In 2022 Faktisk.no described Steigan as the main promoter of Russian propaganda among alternative media in Norway.[8][9][10]
The secretary-general of the left-wing Red party Benedikte Pryneid Hansen said the party views Steigan as a platform of "onesided Russian war propaganda, conspiracy theories, racism and transphobia",[4] and that the website is characterized by "extreme conspiracy theories."[11]
Steigan has been denied membership in the Norwegian Association of Newspaper Editors, with the rationale that Steigan.no is not a journalistic medium, but an activist website that disregards accepted journalistic principles.[12]
The website's writers include Hans Olav Brendberg, who is known for promoting anti-semitic conspiracy theories,[13] and Swedish TERF and pro-Russian debater Kajsa Ekman.[1][14]
Red-brown conference[edit]
Steigan also hosts his own conference named "Mot Dag" ("Against/Towards Day"), named after an historical communist group, that has also been described as "red-brown" and that has featured many well-known conspiracy theorists as well as far-right speakers, including Nazis, while portraying itself as left-wing. An article on LibCom noted:
Steigan has a long history on the anti-imperialist left, including having met with Pol Pot and Enver Hoxha. His current project appears to be a sort of “red-brown convergence squared”, as his conference brought the anti-trans axis represented by Keen-Minshull together with Eva Bartlett, Vanessa Beeley and Patrick Henningsen, three figures who’ve played a high-profile role in the international pro-Assad conspiracy theorist milieu. All three have extensive connections to the far-right.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Collaboration between transphobic feminists and the far right — some facts
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Bonzo goes to Oslo: Christian fundamentalists and the far-right strike a new pose".
- ↑ "Propaganda-påstander: Tok ikke kontakt". Dagbladet.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Ikke alle liker at Moxnes tar oppgjør med Steigan.no". Aftenposten.
- ↑ Færseth, John (2021). Fyrtårnet i øst: Putins Russland og vestlige ekstremister. Humanist forlag. ISBN 9788282821704.
- ↑ "Flere norske alternativmedier fungerer som «kanaler» for russisk desinformasjon og propaganda". Journalisten.
- ↑ "SIAN sentrale i spredningen av innhold fra alternative medier". Faktisk.
- ↑ "Slik spres russisk propaganda i norske alternative medier". Faktisk.no.
- ↑ "Hevdes å spre russisk propaganda: Kari Jaquesson medeier". Dagbladet.
- ↑ "Ap-Raymond om Rødt-bråket: Kast ut Steigan-tilhengerne!". Verdens Gang. "Faktisk.no skrev i mars i år at steigan.no skiller seg ut som den aktøren som sprer klart mest russisk propaganda blant norske alternative medier."
- ↑ "Full splid i Raudt om Steigan.no". NRK.
- ↑ Steigan.no fikk avslag på søknad om medlemskap i Norsk Redaktørforening: – Patetisk
- ↑ "– Gruppering samles i hemmelighet rundt antisemittisk budskap i Oslo neste uke. Jeg håper flest mulig protesterer". Vårt Oslo.
- ↑ Kajsa Ekis Ekman in Steigan.no