Chapter 6 of 13 in Sverige i fokus

The role of the media: freedom of the press, public service and source criticism

Quick answers

Which fundamental laws protect freedom of the press and freedom of expression?

The Freedom of the Press Act (tryckfrihetsförordningen) and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen). They give everyone the right to say what they think and spread their opinions, and the state may not control the media.

What is public service?

Sveriges Radio (SR), Sveriges Television (SVT) and Utbildningsradion (UR). They must be independent, may not make money from advertising and are financed through a fee collected with tax.

What does källkritik mean?

Source criticism: checking and examining whether what you read, see or hear is correct. Not everything that is published is true, and false claims spread fast.

What is the principle of public access (offentlighetsprincipen)?

That public documents held by the authorities are public. Anyone may read them, unless they are secret.

The citizenship test (medborgarskapsprovet) is written in Swedish, so learn the Swedish key words in brackets as you read. This page is also available in Swedish: Mediernas roll.

Chapter 6 of Sverige i fokus is about the media (medier): newspapers, radio, television, film, the internet and social media. The media spread news, knowledge and information that affect everyone in society. Here you learn why the media are free in Sweden, what public service is, and how you check whether a claim is true.

Why are the media free in Sweden?

Sweden is a democracy, and in a democracy the media are free. Two of the fundamental laws (grundlagar) protect that freedom: the Freedom of the Press Act (tryckfrihetsförordningen) and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen). They give everyone the right to say what they think and to spread their opinions. The state cannot decide or influence what is said in the media.

The media have several tasks. They report the news. They are a place where people can discuss society. They also provide entertainment. One especially important task is to scrutinise (granska) those in power. Journalists must be able to check what politicians and other people with power are doing.

There should also be many different media, not just one or two. If only a few media existed, fewer voices would be heard and the scrutiny would be weaker. That is why the state gives financial support to news media and daily newspapers. The support does not give the state any right to influence the content.

What is the principle of public access?

So that journalists can scrutinise those in power, there is the principle of public access (offentlighetsprincipen). It means that public documents (allmänna handlingar) held by the authorities are public. A public document can be a letter, an email or a decision. Anyone has the right to see the document, unless it is secret. When a document is secret, this is called sekretess.

In practice this means that a journalist can request emails and other documents from an authority. In that way the journalist can see how a decision was made. The right to access public documents is written in the Freedom of the Press Act.

Who may give information to the media?

Everyone has the right to give information to newspapers, radio and television. Anyone who does so may not be punished for it. The person also has the right to remain anonymous. This means that, for example, an employee at an authority dares to report wrongdoing without risking their job.

But the freedom has rules. Every newspaper, radio channel and television channel has a responsible publisher (ansvarig utgivare). This is a person who is legally responsible for everything that is published. The publisher must follow the laws that protect against defamation (förtal) and insults. Journalists must also check information with several independent sources and make sure the sources are reliable.

What kinds of media are there?

In Sweden there is a large number of newspapers and magazines. There are also commercial (kommersiella) radio and television channels. They get their money by selling advertising space, or through people paying to watch a particular channel.

Media financed by advertising are often run by private companies. They can be daily newspapers (dagstidningar) and evening tabloids (kvällstidningar). Some are distributed locally, others across the whole country. Some newspapers you subscribe to (prenumererar på), others are bought as single copies. Today most newspapers are also on the internet. There the news is updated several times a day.

On the web and on social media it is different. Anyone can create content there. The content is therefore not checked in the same way as in newspapers, radio and television.

What is public service?

Three media companies have a special mission in Sweden: Sveriges Radio (SR), Sveriges Television (SVT) and Utbildningsradion (UR). The three are called public service.

The public service companies must be independent (oberoende) of political and other interests. They must report on society and let different opinions be heard, without taking sides. They must have a broad range: news, sport, entertainment and culture.

Public service may not make money from advertising. Instead the companies are financed through a fee collected via tax. The purpose is that everyone in the country should have access to factual (saklig) information. It should not matter where you live or how much money you have.

What is source criticism?

Information comes from many sources: newspapers, books, websites, social media, television and radio. But not everything that is published is correct. False claims can spread fast and influence what people think.

Checking and examining information is called being source-critical (källkritisk). It means that you question what you read, see or hear. You ask yourself: Who is behind the claim? Can I find the same claim in another, independent source? Is the source reliable?

Source criticism (källkritik) is extra important on the web and on social media, because the content there is not checked in the same way as in other media. Journalists at newspapers, radio and television must themselves check their facts with several sources before they publish.

How to check a claim

You can work the same way as a journalist. Look for the same claim in several sources that are independent of each other. Two social media accounts copying the same text do not count as two sources. Check who is behind the source and whether it is reliable. A public authority, an established newspaper or public service is usually more reliable than an unknown account. Be extra careful with claims that stir strong feelings, because such claims spread fastest. If you cannot check a claim: do not pass it on.

What the test usually asks about

• Which two fundamental laws protect the freedom to express and spread opinions.
• What the principle of public access means and why it makes journalists’ scrutiny easier.
• That anyone who gives information to the media may remain anonymous and may not be punished.
• What a responsible publisher is.
• Which three companies are public service and how they are financed.
• That public service must be independent and may not broadcast advertising.
• The difference between advertising-financed media and public service.
• What source criticism means and why it is needed on social media.

Practise the chapter

The questions for chapter 6 are on the page questions on chapter 6. They are ten practice questions we wrote based on the chapter. They are not UHR’s questions. Read the chapter first, then answer the questions and read the explanation for each answer. The practice test covers all chapters.

Difficult words in this chapter

granska

to scrutinise, to check carefully how something was done

allmän handling

a public document, for example a letter or a decision, held by a public authority

sekretess

secrecy, when a piece of information is confidential and may not be released

ansvarig utgivare

the responsible publisher, the person who by law is responsible for everything published in a newspaper, radio or television channel

förtal

defamation, spreading false claims that damage a person's reputation

oberoende

independent, not controlled by anyone else, for example politicians or companies

kommersiell

commercial, run in order to make money

prenumerera

to subscribe, to pay in advance to receive a newspaper or service regularly

saklig

factual, based on facts rather than opinions or feelings

The course

The full course, all 13 chapters

MonthYear

99SEK per month

or 499 SEK for a full year

• Lessons for every chapter of Sverige i fokus
• Practice questions with explanations and page references
• A mock test in the same form as the August test
• Difficult words explained in plain Swedish

Coming soon

Want an email when the course opens? Write to us.

Sources

• Sverige i fokus, UHR (2026): pp. 20–21
• Tryckfrihetsförordning (1949:105), riksdagen.se: chapter 2, section 1, on the right to access public documents