Sweden, like many other countries, reports increasing cases where journalists are threatened or harassed. Leading politicians have declared that such actions should be perceived as threats to democracy and free media. Significant steps to protect journalists have also been taken by news media companies, who provide full and unlimited legal support for their journalists.
The public service company SVT has established a special cybersecurity team to counter attacks against individual reporters and the work they produce. Some 35 cases per day are handled, including hate-mail, digital and physical threats, and acts of violence. Cases are reported to the police, and security consultants provide protection to reporters and their families. In some instances, newsrooms have been evacuated after threats. The financial cost for security measures has quadrupled over the last five years. On the company level, cyberattacks and political attacks from other countries have been directed against investigative reporting on money laundering in the eastern parts of Europe and against reporting on human rights in China (Stjärne, 2020).
