The Swedish attack is not the first fake news
Trump has previously used Fake News to further his own agenda with the bowling green massacre. He claimed that after the bowling green massacre Obama restricted immigration to the US from middle eastern countries and rounded up Syrian Migrants. It should be noted that no such event as the bowling green massacre took place and no restrictions were put in place under the Obama administration. There was, however, an arrest made on two middle eastern suspects over potential attack plans.
Many swedes were baffled by the news of an attack
The announcement from Trump caused much social media storm from Swedish nationals. Many announced there confusion and outrage on twitter including on the official Swedish nationals twitter account. It was, of course, Iraqi refugees which Trump blamed for the attack showing his determination to turn the western world against refugees.
Swedish crime rates have been increasingly stable within recent years and Sweden is well renowned for its neutrality in many international conflicts. However, Trump could have picked Sweden due to its neutrality and fairly open immigration policy. It is not clear where Trump received his own sources on the attack and it is slightly shocking since he often accuses the media of creating fake news.
Is Trump using the fake Swedish attack to turn the western world on refugees?
It is clear from Trumps foreign and immigration policy so far that he does not want middle eastern or Muslim refugees in the US. After a small rise in reported terrorist attacks in Europe in recent years, Trump has always come out and criticised many European nations for their less restricted immigration policies.
If you also count the rise of fake news from outlets such as Breibart and Trump's continued attacks on the media, using a fake attack to justify his agenda and possibly implement more stringent measures with little opposition. This is however hardly the sort of thing a president should be doing in a time of crisis.
