Parents of children in foster care in Denmark are contacted by American MAGA media

An American journalist from the news outlet The Epoch Times has announced that he is on his way to Denmark with the aim of speaking to Greenlandic parents who have had their children placed in Denmark.

This has prompted the advisor and former chair of the association MAPI, Laila Bertelsen, to warn both the Danish and Greenlandic governments.

Not ordinary journalism

She is concerned that Greenlandic families are being hitched to a political wagon, as The Epoch Times is known to be a very right-wing media outlet with close ties to the Trump administration and the MAGA movement.

– It is my clear assessment that this is not ordinary journalism, but part of a politically motivated effort that can exploit the situation of vulnerable families to promote American interests in Greenland, says Laila Bertelsen and refers to that similar attempts have already taken place.

– I know that Greenlandic families in Denmark have previously been offered both travel and exposure in the USA in a political context. I managed to avoid participation then, but this time the risk is greater, because several families have distrust of the Danish authorities, among other things due to experiences with VISO, which is perceived as professionally and culturally insufficiently founded and in some cases directly unfairly treated. There is thus a real risk that vulnerable citizens will be instrumentalized in a foreign political agenda, says Laila Bertelsen.

Slander campaign against Denmark

The association Sila 360, which offers legal aid to citizens of Greenlandic background in Denmark, has also been contacted by several American media outlets with ties to the MAGA movement, who have wanted to get in touch with parents of children in care.

– We have always been skeptical of American media outlets, and have asked parents to be careful who they talk to. Because even though there are challenges in the area of ​​care, and the conditions need to be improved, it must be done in the right way between Denmark and Greenland, and the Greenlandic parents should not be used in a smear campaign against Denmark, says director of the association Tina Naamansen.

Background checks of media

One of the parents who have experienced being contacted by American media is Keira Alexandra Kronvold, who last November had her daughter Zammi forcibly removed from birth. She has since fought to get her daughter back and her case has been covered in, among other things, Sermitsiaq, KNR, DR, Information and Kristeligt Dagblad, and in several foreign media including BBC, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, The Times and National Indigenous Times.

– Every single time I have been approached by a media outlet, I have done a background check on both the outlet and the journalist. And if I have seen a connection to the MAGA movement or the Trump administration, I have said that I am not interested in participating. I am still fighting to get my daughter back, but it is not a fight that involves the USA. I do not want to create drama and put others under stress. It will not do any good for my cause or for Greenland, says Keira Alexandra Kronvold.

American media and influence campaigns

Stephen Joyce is an associate professor at Aarhus University and has, among other things, worked extensively with American media and political influence campaigns. He sees The Epoch Times in the same category as Newsmax and One America News, which in recent years have been considered popular far-right media outlets and are closely linked to the Trump administration and the MAGA movement.

– Both The Epoch Times, Newsmax and One American News experienced a large increase after the 2020 election and Trump’s accusations of election fraud. Fox News, which had otherwise been Trump’s preferred media, did not want to support the election fraud theory, but The Epoch Times, One American News and Newsmax did, which gave them special access to Trump and many new readers and followers.

From Falun Gong in China to the right-wing in the USA

The Epoch Times was established in 2000 and was originally linked to the Chinese Falun Gong movement, which is very critical of the communist Chinese government.

– In the years around Trump’s first presidential term, The Epoch Times began to appeal to a broader group on the right than the Chinese-American conservatives, whom the media had otherwise addressed. And they continued to do so in the years to come. Today, the newspaper is published in over 30 countries and has millions of subscribers and readers.

According to Stephen Joyce, both The Epoch Times, Newsmax and One American News are known for filtering news through a particular ideological perspective so that it fits into their worldview.

– A worldview where the United States, for example, must take over Greenland in order to be able to defend itself against China, says Stephen Joyce, adding that it is therefore very likely that these media will try to twist stories about Greenlandic parents of children placed in Denmark so that it can be used in a larger narrative.

– It is very worrying that these media are trying to get Greenlandic parents of children placed in Denmark to talk, because it indicates that there is still a desire in the United States to take over Greenland, says Stephen Joyce.

Sermitsiaq has tried to get the journalist from The Epoch Times to speak, but has not yet succeeded.