False claims about the Swedish Liberals’ party leader Simona Mohamsson are spreading in English and Chinese.

A US Maga account with over three million followers has posted about Sweden’s Minister for Education and Integration Simona Mohamsson (L), and within a few days it has received nearly 40,000 interactions on Facebook, NORDIS-fact-checking parter Källkritikbyrån writes.

This is what the account wrote, translated into Swedish:

“Sweden’s current Minister for Education and Integration was born into a Muslim family, with her father being a former Hamas member in Palestine and her mother a Lebanese Shia Muslim.

She told the Swedes she is not Muslim, and the Swedes actually believed her! After taking office, she forcefully promoted Islamic studies courses, making them the highest-credit elective in all Swedish schools.

She demanded that all Swedish students must learn about Islam, saying Sweden needs Islam and only Islam can save Sweden.”

Facebook post, 19 April 2026

In the comment section, people write that Mohamsson does not look Swedish and that this is how immigrants take over the country.

Is there anything in the post that is true? Has Mohamsson promoted Islamic studies as a school subject? No, Simona Mohamsson has not made Islamic studies a merit-giving subject in Swedish schools, forced such courses, or made them mandatory. Several comments under the man’s post ask for sources for the claims, which he does not provide.

According to Källkritikbyrån there is also no documentation that Mohamsson has ever said this, neither in parliament, in interviews, nor in writing.

Simona Mohamsson has also taken a stand against Islamism in her social media.

According to the post, Islamic studies would also have been made the subject that gives the highest merit points in Swedish schools:

“… she forcefully promoted Islamic studies courses, making them the highest-credit elective in all Swedish schools…”

That is also not true. Merit points are extra points (maximum 2.5) that can be obtained through higher levels in modern languages, English and mathematics in upper secondary school in Sweden, and are added to the comparison figure when applying to college or university.

Mohamsson is an atheist

Mohamsson’s father is Palestinian, born in Haifa. There is nothing that supports the claim that he has or has had connections to Hamas. It is true that Mohamsson’s mother is a Lebanese Shia Muslim.

Mohamsson has stated that she is not Muslim. She was asked the question in an interview with the Christian newspaper Dagen last summer: Are you Muslim?

“No, I am an atheist,” replied Simona Mohamsson.

In the interview, Mohamsson also says that her parents fled from Islamists and that she believes it is important that schools are free from religious elements.

Where do the claims come from?

The origin appears to be an anonymous Chinese-language account on Twitter/X with over 13,000 followers. On Saturday, the account posted a tweet, which has now been removed.

That post has since been shared further by, among others, a British politician and a Spanish Member of the European Parliament, something that was noted by the Swedish public broadcaster, SVT.

When the Chinese account started, it mainly posted animal clips according to SVT, but has now shifted to also publishing anti-Muslim content, including claims that Sweden is being taken over by Muslims.

One reason why the Chinese account attacks Simona Mohamsson may be that she has engaged in issues related to China.

She has, among other things, published the report book “Hongkong RIP”, pushed for a Swedish boycott of the Olympics in Beijing and at the time demanded that China’s then ambassador be expelled, something she describes in an article in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter in 2021. This led to criticism from the Chinese consulate.

Two years ago, China’s embassy also warned that a proposal by the Liberals and the Christian Democrats for cooperation between Gothenburg and Taiwan could affect relations with China, and urged Swedish politicians to refrain from engaging in the issue.

Common tactic

Mattias Ekman, associate professor in media and communication studies at Stockholm University, who has among other things researched racism in social media, says that the post is a textbook example of disinformation.

“It is a common modus operandi among activists on the far right to make claims that Islam is “taking over” Sweden in various ways, and it reflects conspiratorial ideas and strategies that are common in these political environments,” Mattias Ekman says to Källkritikbyrån.

According to Ekman, the idea is spread both from the US and from other countries.

Källkritikbyrån has contacted Simona Mohamsson’s press office, which declines to comment and refers to a tweet from Liberal politician Gulan Avci.

Do not think we ourselves are affected – only others

Kajsa Falasca is an associate professor in media and communication studies at Mid Sweden University and has researched political communication, election campaigns and the role of social media in democratic processes since 2010.

According to her, research shows that people are aware of the problem of disinformation, but rarely believe that they themselves are affected. They are more concerned about how others are affected by the spread of false information. However, it can affect overall trust in the information people encounter.

“You start to lose trust, both in the content you encounter and in what others think and believe and which news you can trust. It creates uncertainty that on a general level erodes trust in society,” says Falasca.

Can this type of post influence the election campaign?

“Absolutely, but it is difficult to know how much.”

Ahead of the election, she still does not see disinformation as a major problem in Sweden.

“In Sweden we have relatively high trust in politicians. We also have strong traditional media that are visible, heard and present in people’s information flows, says Falasca, adding that the situation looks different in countries where the media lack independence.”

Overall: An anonymous Chinese account is spreading false claims about Sweden’s Minister for Education and Integration Simona Mohamsson (L). She is claimed to be Muslim and to want to push for more Islamic studies in Sweden, but she is an atheist and works politically against faith-based schools.

See the article on the website of Källkritikbyrån here.