By now you’ve heard Trump’s confounding comments Friday regarding Sweden. “You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden,” Trump said. “Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible.”
The next day amid lots of confusion (Sweden reportedly A-OK) Trump took to Twitter to say the comment was in reference to a Fox news piece that had aired. Turns out this brilliant comment started with filmmaker Ami Horowitz appearing with Tucker Carlson a day before, you can watch the interview here.
You can see how conveniently plucked stock footage of fires, attacks, and unrest featured in the classic Fox we-didn’t-necessarily-say-it-was-related use of imagery could make a person with some pre-set beliefs about immigration make some assumptions. Where did he get “last night”? Who the fuck knows.
So who the heck is Ami Horowitz? A quick scan of his name turns up a series of articles across the alt-right media reporting a “vicious attack” on him and his team by five refugees in a heavily immigrant neighborhood of Stockholm (although the description seems a lot less harrowing and a lot more about a twerpy filmmaker who wouldn’t stop recording when asked.) Looking into his filmography we find “Stockholm Syndrome” a film about just how rapey Sweden has become with its new refugee population. Digging deeper you find the citation for these booming rape stats as coming from – you guessed it- a conservative think tank called Gatestone. Dive further into these numbers on which Horowitz’s film is based, you find the key asterisk: the nationality of the accused rapists are not reported, yes there’s an increase in reported sexual assault but assuming it related to refugee resettlement is flimsy, in addition to this in Sweden naturalized children of immigrants are still considered immigrants. Conclusion: This stat is bullshit and so is this bullshit film.
Horowitz, a USC alum, is as interested truthful reporting as he is in conducting quality, cinematic interviews. So what does Horowitz really believe? Are his fears grounded in reality? No, but that won’t stop him from screaming about them for months to come. Expect to hear more from this one on the right folks.
Really, Truly, Fake News 