Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)* interior minister, Mari Rantanen, has pulled another fast one on the media. Anti-immigration politicians usually make outrageous statements that are then rebuffed by the media. It is a course in Fake News 101.
Even if Interior Minister Mari Rantanen admits her claim, that millions of migrants are coming to Finland, to be “a childish mistake,” it is far from that. Politicians constantly make outrageous claims. It does not matter if the politician admits to the mistake later because the news is already out there with their followers. Source: Yle
On Tuesday, Rantanen claimed on A-studio that “millions of undocumented migrants” could come to Finland.
On Wednesday, the following day, she admitted to the “childish mistake.”
“I meant that in Russia there are around 10 million foreigners of which 1-2 million are residing illegally,” she added.
Jussi Lassila, a researcher at the Finnish Institution of Foreign Affairs, said that it was an exaggeration to talk about all the undocumented people in Russia when considering the number of people who might come to Finland.
“I don’t think that even in the worst case, all those who are counted as immigrants in Russia are being directed to Finland,” he said.
Minister Rantanen has stuck her foot in her mouth several times without counting her numerous social media conspiracy theory posts. Most recently, she claimed that Vladimir Putin could get asylum in Finland.
In Finland, as we are sadly witnessing, there are few if any consequences fo politicians who spread racism and fear about migrants.
It shows how far the government of Petteri Orpo has stooped and how ill-prepared they are to deal with the Finnish-Russian border crisis.
