Social Media Experiment Gone Wrong?

image
Published: 13 Jun, 2012
1 min read

What would you tweet if given full control over your country's official Twitter account? In a project called Curators of Sweden, the official Twitter account @Sweden is handed off directly to the country's citizens. Each week, a new Swede is given the opportunity to freely tweet whatever comes to mind.

While the project has been going on for 24 weeks, it made national headlines yesterday when a 27 year old mother of two, Sonja, was publicly ridiculed for her comments on Jewish and gay people. Since then, her tweets have been the talk of the nation, causing many to criticize Sweden's strategy.

The Social Media Manager at Visitsweden defends the project, telling the Wall Street Journal:

“It’s very important for us to let everyone take a unique viewpoint. Every one of our curators is there with a different perspective.” - Tommy Sollén

The Twitter community reacted with outrage, yet the number of people following the account skyrocketed from 34,000 to roughly 46,000 followers.

And censorship is out of the question.

“You cannot look at any specific tweet, you can only judge a curator on the whole week…How else are you going to show the multi-faceted people that Sweden is composed of?”  - Tommy Sollén

Whether or not you agree with the reasoning behind the social media experiment, it's hard to deny that Sonja is doing her part in sharing a very "unique" viewpoint:

The dinner was horrible. It felt like eating your way through a shaved vikings chest, while he's trying to kill you.— @sweden / Sonja (@sweden) June 13, 2012

So, what would you tweet if given full access to the official United States Twitter account?

 

Also, check out the Wall Street Journal and Mashable for some great social media curations of @Sweden's most controversial tweets!

IVP Donate

 

You Might Also Like

Group of people standing outside in DC.
Ranked Choice Voting Survives Delay Attempts in DC
According to reporting from The Washington Informer and WUSA9 (CBS), D.C. Councilmember Wendell Felder (D Ward 7) has withdrawn his emergency legislation that would have required the D.C. Board of Elections (DCBOE) to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment before implementing ranked choice voting (RCV) in 2026. Felder’s proposal did not receive enough support from his colleagues during the council’s December 2 legislative meeting, following a breakfast discussion earlier that morning....
04 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read
Bob Foster
Remembering Bob Foster
Independent Voter News is saddened to share the passing of Bob Foster, a trusted advisor to the Independent Voter Project and a longtime friend of our organization. He died on Sunday at the age of 78....
04 Dec, 2025
-
2 min read
Caution tape with US Capitol building in the background.
Did the Republicans or Democrats Start the Gerrymandering Fight?
The 2026 midterm election cycle is quickly approaching. However, there is a lingering question mark over what congressional maps will look like when voters start to cast their ballots, especially as Republicans and Democrats fight to obtain any electoral advantage possible. ...
11 Nov, 2025
-
8 min read