By Camilla Wasén
In late 2024, investigative report Eigil Söderin’s book about the Sweden Democrats was released, drawing critical acclaim – and outright hatred.
“From the very beginning, I wanted to do investigative journalism,” Eigil Söderin says, leaning forward on his chair in the cramped meeting room of the Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC, where he leads the investigative team.
He didn’t have to wait long. Shortly after graduating from Gothenburg University, he published his first article, an investigation into a Nazi group in Malmö that was using a sports hall to train for what they called the “race war.”
Far-right movements and their influence on mainstream politics have interested Söderin ever since. “The flow of ideas and people between the parliamentary far-right and the fringe is kind of fluid,” he notes.
A matter of trust
Söderin believes his approach to people has helped him gain access to these often elusive groups. While interactions with top politicians are often “like a boxing match,” he takes a gentler approach to other sources.
“I have nothing to gain from playing the tough guy,” he says. “Especially not with those further down in an organisation.”
One of his defining investigations depended entirely on such a source, a low-level party insider whose trust he had won. ‘Because I had treated this person well in the past,’ he explains.
Söderin’s 2022 exposé revealed how Sweden’s second largest party the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) uses fake – or “troll” – social media accounts to manipulate public opinion, revelations he revisits in his critically acclaimed 2024 book Save the Country: The Sweden Democrats and the Battle Over Reality.
Under the radar
Despite the weight of its revelations, Söderin’s story struggled to reach beyond the halls of the Riksdag and the cultural pages. It was only two years later when Sweden’s largest commercial TV channel, TV4, aired an undercover investigation about SD’s “troll factory”, that the topic sparked a nationwide conversation.
“Of course, you feel a pang of envy when they manage to take it so far and it becomes such a big story,” says Söderin. But he acknowledges that a small outlet like Dagens ETC could never carry the financial burden of such a production.
For Söderin, the story finally gaining the attention it deserves is more important than attention being directed to him. “My primary purpose working as an investigative journalist is not to promote myself,” he says firmly.
And that rings true. For the past decade, he has stayed committed to a left-leaning newspaper that is an underdog in the media landscape. “When we write something, it’s not always given the same weight as reporting from other outlets.”
Gaining exposure
That dynamic appears to be changing. Dagens ETC is gaining recognition for reporting shaped by what Söderin describes as an intense professionalisation at the paper. “Over time, we have gained credibility and a position in the industry that means that people listen to us in a new way,” he explains.
And it’s not only the industry taking notice – a growing number of paying subscribers are inching Dagens ETC closer to financial independence.
Lately, however, Söderin’s social media accounts have been flooded with hateful comments from bots or dedicated SD supporters, whenever he posts.
More worryingly, Söderin and his colleagues were recently confronted by a fringe YouTuber loitering outside their office, camera in hand. “As the magazine grows, the threat level increases,” he says.
For investigative reporters like Söderin, success and exposure come with a cost. “If you win awards or gain recognition some other way, more people want to see you fall.”
Eigil Söderlin
| Current role: | Editor, Dagens ETC’s Investigations Team. |
| Books: | Rädda landet (2024). |
| Awards and recognitions: | Nominated for five Guldspaden and winner of Tidskriftspriset for Investigation of the Year (2022). |