Observers call the election in Greenland potentially the most consequential in the island’s history and stress its global implications. What factors make this election so important? What role did disinformation and the aggressive geopolitical interest in the island play in the election campaign? Which were the most impactful false narratives and channels?

On election day, EDMO interviewed Thomas Hedin, Editor-in-Chief of TjekDet and member of NORDIS (The Nordic Observatory for Digital Media and Information Disorder), to ask him 5 questions about the vote in Greenland. In the discussion, Hedin outlined key issues related to monitoring disinformation online.

Some obstacles that the TjekDet team encountered were the language barrier, and the lack of proper resources. In particular, as Hedin pointed out, the lack of access to real-time data from the platforms significantly interfered with efforts to assess the role of mis- and disinformation.

“However, some of the mis- and disinformation we observed has been quite obvious”, says Hedin, noting that the tense geopolitical interest especially by the US administration became the subject of false content. X marked a key channel for the spread of such disinformation, including false claims of the possibility of Denmark selling Greenland to the US, and fake profiles posing as politicians.

In addition, although less noted by international observers, a key moment ahead of the election that triggered false content and heated debates marked the broadcast of a widely circulated documentary, titled “Greenland’s White Gold”, alleging that Denmark unfairly exploited Greenland’s natural resources for enormous financial gain. While, as Hedin clarified, the documentary was ultimately found to be “unnuanced and undocumented” and even removed by the public broadcaster, it had a lasting impact on the public debate ahead of the vote.

Looking ahead, Thomas emphasised the importance of strengthening digital media monitoring in Greenland, particularly since “there will likely be a referendum in Greenland on the question of independence […], and there’s no doubt here at TjekDet we need to seek significantly better opportunities to monitor platforms, with or without platform cooperation,” he stated.

Find more content about the Greenlandic election:

“Few days before the election: Fake Múte B. Egede profile deceives users on social media” ❯

“Scammers exploit high-stakes Greenlandic election campaign” ❯

For more insights, watch the video ❯