3.5 Sweden: Continuous Update of Knowledge and Competencies Needed

Media and information literacy (MIL) is high on the political agenda in Sweden. With the establishment of the Swedish Agency for the Media in January 2024, MIL was formally integrated into the government’s permanent administrative framework. The Agency was assigned the mandate to promote MIL and to coordinate national initiatives in this field. The inclusion of MIL as a core component of the Agency’s mission marked a significant step toward ensuring a stable and long-term approach to addressing the challenges that the rapid developments of digital platforms bring. Enhancing the public’s ability to critically assess and engage with the flow of information is essential in safeguarding a resilient democracy. Moreover, the fast and ongoing developments within the media landscape underscore the need for continuously updated knowledge and competencies.

The Swedish Agency for the Media works in a systematic and structured manner to promote MIL. The agency monitors, maps, and analyses developments in the field, with a focus on initiatives and key stakeholders, while also coordinating national MIL efforts. This includes collaboration with a wide range of actors, the coordination of a national MIL network, and the provision of a digital knowledge repository offering resources and materials related to the field.

In this context, the Nordic Media Literacy Survey plays an important role. It provides insights that are crucial for our authority's work and ultimately for strengthening the population's knowledge and skills. In order to effectively reach the entire population, we must gain a deeper understanding of what people actually know, how they approach and interact with media and information, and how this knowledge or the attitudes vary across different segments of society. Which groups demonstrate high or low awareness? Which aspect should be prioritised? In which areas are the need for targeted knowledge dissemination most urgent?

The Agency is also responsible for empowering children and young people to become informed and critical media users. Findings from the youth survey are therefore highly relevant to this work. The Nordic Survey complements our own research on children's and young people’s media habits, as well as our initiatives within the Safer Internet Centre.

One key conclusion from the results is that, overall, the Swedish population is sufficiently well-equipped to engage as informed media consumers, in good company with their Nordic fellow-countrymen. A significant proportion demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the role of independent journalism, and many can distinguish between journalistic content and other types of media. However, the findings also reveal that a considerable segment lacks basic knowledge and struggles to differentiate between various media formats. This signals the importance of reaching out to the population with basic knowledge and skills for enhancing media literacy.

In March 2024, the Agency was tasked by the government to implement a broad and long-term national initiative on MIL. The aim is to empower individuals as conscious media users in a time of rapid technological development to enhance the fundamental ability to understand and critically assess various types of messages and increase trust in credible sources. The initiative is a very concrete mandate to the Agency within media literacy, thereby contributing to society's resilience against disinformation and undue influence.

In response to the government’s task, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about media and information in an era of artificial intelligence has been designed for both the general public and intermediaries; it will be available in Swedish, English, and Arabic. To ensure broad accessibility, it will be distributed through a range of dissemination channels.

The MOOC aims to raise awareness among the population at a time when AI is affecting the media landscape at an incalculable pace. Technology development is extremely fast, and it is difficult to predict what it will bring for the future. According to the results from the survey, nearly half of the Swedish respondents answer that they have used an AI service in the past three months. The same result can be seen in neighbouring countries. It is likely this figure will grow. However, a majority of the population express worries about AI and its impact on media content as they think that the development of AI is going too fast. The share of respondents expressing insecurity (stating a “don’t know” reply) is also relatively high. From the results we thus see a need to address this field.

The government has recently decided to allocate additional funding to the national initiative —an investment that the authority welcomes. To meet the government’s objective of increasing awareness and capabilities across the entire population, long-term efforts supported by stable and sufficient funding are essential. The Swedish Agency for the Media will include the survey results in its structured and strategic work in this area, where a repeated Nordic Media Literacy Survey will serve as a key tool, a basis of knowledge, for ensuring the relevance of media literacy-related initiatives.

The Swedish Agency for the Media works for an open and safe media landscape. The Agency's mission is to promote freedom of expression, media-and information literacy and media diversity. The Agency shall also empower minors as conscious media users and protect children from harmful media influences.