Sweden’s state broadcaster SVT has been ruled against—twice—for referring to illegal migrants as “illegal migrants” during a news report.
The decision came from the country’s media watchdog, Granskningsnämnden, after two viewers complained about the wording used in a segment on SVT’s flagship programme Rapport last September.
The report covered protests in Britain against immigration. Viewers were told that “right-wing extremist groups” were behind the demonstrations before interviews were aired with participants.
One dark-skinned man taking part in the protest said: “We don’t want problems. We want to live in peace,” adding that “a limit has been reached.”
A white woman interviewed during the broadcast said: “We don’t want all these paperless illegal people wandering around our streets in small groups and scaring our children. Our children are in danger!”
Among the incidents fuelling anger was the case of a 41-year-old Ethiopian man accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Following the interviews, SVT’s UK correspondent told viewers that record numbers of “illegal migrants” had crossed the English Channel into Britain this year.
Under British law—the Illegal Migration Act—individuals entering via so-called irregular routes lack valid entry permits. The British state classifies such arrivals as illegal migration.
That legal definition did not prevent the ruling.
On Monday, the Review Board found that describing individuals as “illegal migrants” was “both misleading in violation of the requirement for objectivity and evaluative in violation of the requirement for impartiality.”
In its written decision, the board stated that even if the phenomenon is classified as illegal migration by British authorities, that does not justify using the term “illegal migrant” for individuals.
The panel was divided. Vice-chairman Ulrik von Essen and member Staffan Rosell both argued that the segment should not have been sanctioned.
