Which Norwegian opinion leaders receive rewards from Norway?

The public discourse in the Norwegian newspaper Nettavisen is brutal. When those who believe the Ukraine war has several sides, this is dismissed with ugly personal characteristics in the comments section.

Nettavisen’s Ukraine writer Jørn Sund-Henriksen makes a number of startling claims in his op-ed “Norway has enemies – they want to harm us (automatic translation, original here). In the op-ed he claims that Norwegians are rewarded for promoting false narratives, especially on behalf of Russia.

Since the undersigned is one of the people most often accused of being an FSB agent and a Norwegian quisling in Nettavisen’s comment section, Sund-Henriksen’s input is something that should not go unanswered.

Sund-Henriksen has the following paragraph:

I do not know any Norwegians who have received this type of remuneration, and this has never been documented in the public discourse. If Sund-Henriksen thinks he has proof that Norwegians have received this type of remuneration, I would encourage him to come up with the names of those he suspects. Then we can take the debate from there.

Personally, I have never received a single cent from Russia or Russians, and I have only been to Russia twice, way back in 1992 when I served at the Garrison in Porsanger, the northernmost infantry battalion in the world, 70 degrees north, serving in my compulsory military service. Together with the Christian soldier association, we had two trips to Russia in the spring of 1992, first to Nikkel, later to Murmansk where we sang Christian songs in a Russian prison.

The public discourse in Nettavisen is brutal. When those who believe that the Ukraine war has several sides, this is dismissed with ugly personal characteristics in the comments section, and such opinions very rarely get editorial space in Nettavisen. It is also not unusual for debaters to encourage Nettavisen to throw me out because they do not like my opinions.

It is good that Nettavisen allows war-critical voices to express themselves in the comment section, but they should delete accusations that those who want a peace solution are trolls who work directly or indirectly for Russia.

But in editorial section, the newspaper sticks with activists like Sund-Henriksen, who are suspicious of those who think there are better solutions than sending tons of deadly weapons to a war that Ukraine has no chance of winning.

Nettavisen’s debate rules are good when it comes to respect for those you disagree with, in theory, when the rules say, for example: Show respect for the person you are debating with – even when you strongly disagree. Write only what you would just as easily say orally if you were sitting across from each other.

The debate rules then continue with the following call: Discuss the matter, not the person. Instead of characterizing an opponent, explain why you disagree.

It is a good rule that Nettavisen requires debaters to appear with their full names, but we who express ourselves that more war support for Ukraine is not the way to peace, we’re entering into a very burdensome exchange of words where we have to endure harsh attacks from those who think war is the way to peace. I don’t have a count of all the times I’ve been called “ruzzia troll” and FSB agent.

Nettavisen should not facilitate Norwegians being suspected of receiving compensation from Russia because they are critical of NATO and Norway’s policy in Ukraine.

This op-ed was rejected by Nettavisen, and it was first published in the Norwegian national conservative media house Uten Filter, which means Without Filter in English.