Expressen has previously reviewed the right-wing profiles, not infrequently with previous ties to the Sweden Democrats, who praised Putin and spread Russian propaganda. Another profile that has gained increasing influence in the pro-Russian online sphere is Mikael Valtersson.
Some time after the 2010 election, Valtersson became head of SD’s parliamentary office, a job he left in 2012. He was also involved in the party’s defense policy, and in that role he was appointed in 2013 as the party’s member of the state air defense committee. The committee would, on behalf of the government, “investigate, analyze and assess the entirety of and the need within air defense after 2040”.
In addition to the parliamentary appointed members, heavy authorities such as the Swedish Armed Forces, FMV and FOI also participated in the committee’s work.
When the committee presented its final report at the beginning of 2015, Russia had begun its military aggression against Ukraine. In the same year, it was stated that Valtersson was the subject of an exclusion case in SD after he was revealed to have both sent Nazi propaganda and been involved in a mining company with links to right-wing extremists.
But the party did not completely cut ties with Valtersson. In 2016, he started working as political secretary for SD in Sollentuna. It was a job that he had until 2019, but in parallel he also had a corresponding job for the party in Haninge until 2020.
In the last election, Valtersson helped Alternativ för Sverige, but recently he has mainly distinguished himself on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. There, he currently has almost 37,000 followers and his posts have a clear pro-Russian orientation.
Mikael Valtersson got a lot of attention when he posted a film from Russia a few weeks ago.
Uploaded video from Russia
Valtersson recently attracted attention when he posted a short film from Russia. When Expressen gets hold of him on the phone, he says that he has been visiting friends in the country:
– I neither work nor live in Russia. On the other hand, I sometimes write a little for Sputnik, or produce some articles together with them.
In 2022, the US government published a report showing the central role of the state-owned Russian media channel Sputnik in Kremlin propaganda. The channel not only aims to highlight the views of the regime but also aims to destabilize Western societies and undermine the democratic systems.
Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Council announced that Sputnik would be blocked within the Union. The decision was justified by the fact that the channel engages in “systematic information manipulation and disinformation from the Kremlin”which is “an operational tool in Russia’s attack on Ukraine”.
Mikael Valtersson participates in the Kremlin-controlled media channel Sputnik.
Mikael Valtersson points to X out of Ukrainian interests as the main suspects for having organized the terrorist attack in Moscow.
Propaganda articles in Sputnik
In propaganda articles for Sputnik, Valtersson’s defense policy background is highlighted. There he gives support to the Kremlin’s view that Ukraine, backed by NATO, constitutes an existential threat to Russia, and that Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership increases the security risks in the Baltic Sea.
– A large part of the media in Russia is controlled by the state, says Valtersson about his participation in Sputnik.
– I understand that when they ask me, they ask about things that are on their agenda. So even if I answer neutrally, they don’t highlight things that might be negative for them. That’s how all media actually work.
Are you getting paid by Sputnik?
– No no no. I don’t get paid.
Are you being paid by other Russian interests to spread your analysis on Twitter?
– Nothing. I’m happy to stand up anywhere and talk about what I think and believe, says Valtersson.
Mikael Valtersson posted, before the Russian presidential election, a picture of a ballot paper where Putin’s name was crossed out.
Putin’s name crossed out on the ballot
Just before the Russian presidential election, he wrote a post on X to remind people to vote. To the post he attached a picture of a ballot with Putin’s name crossed out and a picture of a thumbs up.
– I have to admit that I didn’t even know that Putin was crossed in the picture, but I had only received it from someone who voted.
In the Russian mock election, all real opponents of President Putin were out of the way – imprisoned, struck off the ballot or, as in the case of Alexei Navalny, dead.
– I cannot say whether there has been election fraud or not, because I know nothing about that, says Valtersson, who admits that there were no real opponents to Putin.
In other posts on X, Valtersson calls on the West to stop supporting Ukraine and he writes that Ukraine’s chance to survive as a country is to agree to become a smaller country that forms a buffer zone.
– I am convinced that Ukraine will lose the war.
Mikael Valtersson, in the background, when SD leader Jimmie Åkesson was interviewed by Expressen’s reporter Fredrik Sjöshult.
Photo: YLWA YNGVESSON
Condemns Ukraine’s “insensitive policy”
When Expressen asks questions about Russia’s military aggression, Valtersson starts talking about Ukraine’s guilt and responsibility – and that it was then “of course that Russia was involved in this”.
– If you have a large minority in the country who belong to another people and you are next to a neighbor who has repeatedly said that it is a security threat if you approach too far to the other side – then there is always the risk that this will escalate and then there will be war.
Do you condemn Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine?
– Yes, but I also condemn the very insensitive policy that the Ukrainian side has had towards the Russian-speaking minority.
Valtersson also points out, in another X post, Ukraine and the country’s Western backers as the main suspected organizers behind the terrorist attack in Moscow last Friday.
– I acted like Sherlock Holmes. You look at the potential explanations that exist and then remove those that you think are the least suspicious.
Is it just a coincidence that you end up with the conclusion spread by the Kremlin?
– No, it will be a coincidence because I myself have sat and thought about this.
He has no evidence for his claim that Ukrainian interests are behind the attack:
– No, no, there is no evidence of anything.
The expert: “On Russia’s side in the global information war”
Patrik Oksanen is a security policy expert and senior fellow at the think tank Frivärld. He says about Valtersson’s role in Russian propaganda:
– He fits very well into the pattern of the type of actors that the Russian ecosystem uses. That is, people who you want to make appear more influential in their countries than they might be and who can appear under some kind of expert guise to give legitimacy.
Oksanen continues:
– Valtersson is not meant to influence Sweden, but he becomes an actor that Russia uses to influence internationally and give credibility to Russian positions.
– These types of actors are either very, very naive or quite openly information warriors in Russia’s service. So through his actions and what he does in the information environment and which platforms he participates in, he participates on Russia’s side in the global information war.
The Sweden Democrats’ press department writes in a comment about Valtersson:
“The person in question left his job many years ago and has also been excluded from the party since 2016. The party has no connection whatsoever with the person you are wondering about and we therefore have nothing to add.”
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