In the face of rising far-right nationalism, Yle publishes (again) a story about youths who hate foreigners

Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) published Saturday a story about two far-right youths belonging to the openly fascist and racist Blue-and-Black Movement (Sinimusta liike), and one to Suomen Sisu, which the authorities named in 2011 as ”a Nazi-spirited association.” Thanks to the Yle article, the reader can read how much these so-called ”radical nationalists” hate migrants.

Pyry-Lii Soinio is a twenty-two-year member of the Blue-and-Black Movement. He does not hide his loathing for outsiders. ”I don’t think immigration should be restricted,” he said, ”but [foreign] people should be deported altogether. I don’t care whether immigrants are good citizens or taxpayers. What matters to me is whether they are Finns.”

This is the third article that Yle has published on far-right members in the last three years. The first one was in 2019 by TV host Sean Ricks on far-right youths, followed by Suomineito in 2022.

Both stories received their fair share of criticism.

Yle defended its decision to air Suomineito.

Even if Yle aims to give a voice to fringe elements of Finnish society, the problem is that it does so by forgetting that everyone has a right to live in a society where discrimination is a crime and values like social equality are upheld. If Yle is so open-minded in its journalism, why doesn’t it give a similar platform to sexist and homophobic groups?
Is it because migrants are an easy target and because they have little power?

Even if Yle names these far-right youths as ”radical nationalists,” they could be easily labelled as ”far-right” and neo-fascist.

Suomen Sisu’s aim is not that different from the Blue-and-black Movement.

The Blue-and-Black Movement states on its website: ”The goal of Finnish Finland is a radical and critical declaration for a white, Finnish-speaking and Finnish-speaking Finland against the current rootless mass culture.”

Suomen Sisu also delves heavily into white Finnish supremacy and ethnonationalism.

”Suomen Sisu is a Finnish nationalist movement which objects to the current multiculturalist and globalist tendencies and supports the preservation of national states and European heritage. Through its activities, the organization seeks to protect Finnish culture, traditions and nature, and to promote the well-being of the Finnish people and the preservation of the Finnish language. Suomen Sisu builds a society in Finns can be proud of, and happy in.”

So what do we learn from Yle’s Saturday article?

That migrants have little power and don’t have a voice. As a result, it is to create narratives and allow far-right groups to spread their hatred of migrants.

it exposes as well that Finland has a considerable racism problem.

[1] Media Monitoring Group of Finland aims to promote fair and accurate reporting by the Finnish media of underrepresented cultural, racial, ethnic, and religious groups. As Finland’s cultural diversity continues to grow, the role of the media in forming public opinion and attitudes about minorities becomes even more relevant.