Fox News’ Fox & Friends falsely claimed that Sweden’s reintroduction of the draft was due to violence in the country precipitated by refugees, when in fact the draft is being reintroduced to counter Russian aggression in the region.



Despite Fox’s assertion, Sweden’s government is reintroducing the draft for men and women in the country “because of what its defense minister called a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden” according to a March 2 report from the Washington Post. Sweden ended the draft in 2010, but is reactivating conscription due to “increasing pressure” by Russia on the Baltic region. From the Washington Post:

Sweden’s left-leaning government instituted a military draft for both men and women Thursday because of what its defense minister called a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden.



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In September, non-NATO-member Sweden stationed permanent troops on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist described the move as sending a signal after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its “increasing pressure” on the neighboring Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.



There have also been reports of airspace violations by Russia’s military aircraft in the Baltics and a military buildup in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which sits across the Baltic Sea from Sweden.

Fox News, which has demonized and criticized western countries accepting Muslims, reported the Swedish draft was a response to the violence in the country allegedly perpetrated by refugees. During a March 3 segment on Fox & Friends, anchor Heather Childers said the draft was a “sign that President Trump may be right about Sweden,” claiming that the move is “to combat the brewing terrorism problem in Europe”:

Since Trump’s statement claiming Muslim refugees have sparked violence in Sweden, Fox News has attempted to cover for his false claim by launching a campaign of misinformation which has included defending Trump by pushing anti-Muslim myths and using deceptive practices to fabricate claims that the Swedish government is downplaying refugee violence in the country. Host Bill O’Reilly was forced to admit on his show that he lied about a guest he claimed to be a “Swedish Defense advisor,” when in fact the man had no affiliation with the Swedish government, and didn’t even live in the country.

Correction (11/2/18): This piece originally misidentified Fox anchor Heather Childers as Heather Nauert.