As Migrant Tales and the Media Monitoring Group of Finland correctly predicted, interest in the so-called ”youth gang” problem has tanked in the media and social media after the parliamentary election. Twenty-three days after and before the April 2 election, news by five media outlets (Helsingin Sanomat, Yle, MTV, Iltalehti, and Ilta-Sanomat) plummeted by 54.5% to five stories from 11, according to a Meltwater search. The most significant drop was seen on social media, diving by 87.4% to 314 posts from 2.56k.
The fall was even more pronounced for all media, sinking by 70.5% to 13 stories from 44 stories.
What do these figures tell us about the fake and exaggerated ”youth gang” topic spread by the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset and its National Coalition Party ally? That was a political stunt to attract voters with the help of fear-mongering. The media (more traffic), the police (more funds to fight crime), and politicians (get voters) all profited from the topic.
Political parties, especially the PS, have used migrant crime and topics to attract voters. It happened in the 2011, 2015, and 2019 elections.
One can be concerned about a social problem. In Finland, the police and politicians point to a potential problem. Military dictatorships in countries like Argentina justified their outlandish methods by keeping the terrorist threat by clamping down on potential terrorists.
Hand over heart, media: Does Finland have a ”youth gang” problem if such groups have an estimated 100-200 members?
The ”youth gang” narrative is another shameful chapter of how the media, police, and politicians frame migrants and minorities.
