From the headlines about Sanna Marin, you’d think Finland had been invaded. It hasn’t. Instead, a leaked, semi-focused video of Ms. Marin dancing at a party is getting literally more coverage than Finland joining NATO.
Why?
As media beat-ups go, this is way beyond pathetic. The net takeaway from the video is that Marin is a good dancer and a human being. She’s since taken a drug test… Why, again?
Let’s try another perspective:
- A head of government is being accused of dancing. Not exactly apocalyptic news, is it? Queen Victoria, Abraham Lincoln, and just about every other head of government in history has been seen dancing. This is different? Why?
- A truly all-over-the-place amateur video gets more attention than anything else. Why?
- Who benefits from a prissy, cosmetic negative public image of Ms. Marin? Presumably someone in Finnish politics, but also Putin. This is productive?
- What is being implied by this video? Not much if anything. Her personal and public record is quite clear and entirely above board.
Media skanks to the rescue?
The phraseology in the coverage is questionable at best. Dancing equates to a “wild party”. Terms also used include “partying scandal”, “party behavior”, etc. There seems to be no basis at all for this use of language.
Others have different views. “Russian trolls” and “far-right populists” are also mentioned in general commentary. That may well be right. To deliver such a lot of noise about something which barely deserves to be a subject of conversation does require a lot of spin.
Only a hyper-conservative would be mentally able to watch a few seconds of that video and produce a conspiracy. The South China Morning Post equated love of partying with joining NATO and “no real experience of Soviet domination”. It’s an Interesting bit of contextual acrobatics, but wrong. The Finnish people have hardly forgotten Soviet “benevolence”.
Similarly, inference of drug taking is effectively defamatory. This is a slur produced out of thin air, obviously for political purposes internal and/or external. No information, no proof, therefore it’s OK to make allegations of doing something illegal?
Is it journalism?
How can it be?
You could just watch the rear end of a chicken and get equally penetrant information.
Anybody whose knowledge base extends after about 1900AD would think it was a woman in her 30s just having fun with her friends.
That so many alleged news outlets are prepared to carry troll-standard news is an indictment of the coverage.
More to the point – It’s also adequate proof of who’s on the payroll for this sleazy garbage in global media.
Security and privacy
That leaked videos of a head of government’s location are so easy to get and distribute is another matter. That could be an issue for Finland’s security services, or not, depending on the circumstances.
The video was also taken on private premises. The implication of invasion of privacy is obvious. The video could be the subject of a quite serious invasion of privacy case, if covered by privacy laws. You can’t just take a video in someone’s home and distribute it worldwide without their permission.
Dancing is not illegal. Defamation could well be. Working for foreign governments as propaganda agents can be, too. So are breaches of security and invasion of privacy.
Clear?
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
