World
How a nondescript tweet sparked a huge debate on Swedish hospitality
Usually, a single tweet from an unverified person could be fortunate to get a couple of likes or reshares.
However that is not what occurred in Sweden when a nondescript message about Swedish hospitality sparked an enormous debate and despatched the #Swedengate trending.
It centred on a declare that it’s socially acceptable, and even customary, for Swedes to not feed their visitors, particularly kids.
“Not right here to evaluate however I don’t perceive this. How’re [sic] you going to eat with out inviting your buddy”, requested the tweet in query, posted by Afghan-Canadian person @SamQari.
Beneath it, the connected screenshot displayed a remark wherein a Swedish particular person recounted their childhood expertise of not being invited for dinner whereas taking part in at his buddy’s home.
His tweet went viral. Subsequently, many different tweets and posts have emerged describing numerous sorts of “inhospitable” behaviour which are reported as being frequent or accepted inside Swedish society.
“Went to a mates [sic] home for the primary time taking part in and their mother calls them for dinner… [she] sternly instructed me I used to be allowed to attend and play with the toys in my mates [sic] room till dinner was finished,” tweeted Lovette Jallow, a Gambian-born Swedish activist and creator.
“Rising up in Sweden, I bear in mind not having access to my mates’ dinner tables… I used to be allowed to microwave the scraps whereas they performed board video games in one other room,” posted Signe Krantz, a political scientist.
Viral feedback — and ensuing spats — are likely to generate intense and sometimes vitriolic reactions. But #Swedengate has taken the spat to unbelievable heights, spilling out of Twitter and social media. The anger it has provoked has even resulted in hostile tweets at Sweden’s official Twitter account.
“Boy this has ruffled some feathers,” Sam Qari quipped in his tweets, as his remark snowballed into one thing far higher than he had supposed.
How has Sweden responded to the controversy?
Swedish responses to the controversy have different tremendously – from vociferous defences of the follow of leaving visitors unfed to outright denials of the ubiquity of such a customized.
Even Swedish pop star Zara Larsson weighed in on the matter by way of Instagram, remembering how commonplace it might be to not get invited to the dinner desk whereas at her buddy’s home.
“Loads of households would [do that], and it wouldn’t be an odd factor,” she claimed. “It’s so impolite… but it surely’s undoubtedly Swedish tradition.”
For Stockholm-based legislation pupil Mariam, 22, the #Swedengate controversy acted as a sort of epiphany that make clear her childhood.
“I’ve had two experiences with this,” she instructed Euronews, recounting how she was additionally left to play by herself at her buddy’s home come supper time.
“It’s via discussing with mates and social media reminiscent of TikTok that I realised this was one thing very normalised that many Swedes skilled, particularly as youngsters.”
“I need to add that Swedes are among the many nicest individuals on earth,” stated Mariam. “It’s simply not apparent to them from a cultural standpoint that one ought to share meals with visitors.”
However different Swedes have taken exception to the claims on the coronary heart of #Swedengate, deeming them unusual or relegated to the previous.
“I’ve two youngsters and I’ve by no means heard it taking place after they go to mates,” Swedish father Anton Myrberg instructed Euronews. “It’s not a factor and hasn’t been for 30 years or so.”
Likewise, Professor Richard Tellström, an professional on meals and ethnology, instructed Euronews that the sharing of meals is an inherent a part of the nation’s society.
However, he admitted, the nation’s hospitality tradition is a bit cautious. “You shouldn’t provide a lot that the opposite one feels uncomfortable with the providing,” Prof Tellström added.
“You’re all the time supplied [coffee and cakes] if you go to,” he stated. “A Swedish journalist, who doesn’t drink espresso, should be taught this, in any other case, she or he won’t be able to make interviews at dwelling with abnormal individuals,” he quipped.
Even Sweden’s official Twitter account clapped back at a set of indignant feedback which pilloried the nation’s supposed inhospitality.
“The thought of Swedes not providing refreshments to their visitors shouldn’t be a real reflection of how we go about issues,” it acknowledged. “Swedes entertain visitors of every type of their properties.”
Among the many examples of food-sharing customs cited embody fika, the Swedish custom that includes the sharing of espresso and different delicacies. A good older customized is kafferep, a sort of small non-public social gathering wherein a set of seven kinds of biscuits could be consumed.
Others embody Valborg spring celebrations, the place neighbours collect collectively round bonfires, and Midsummer festivities.
However, different Swedes have taken a radically completely different strategy, claiming not solely that leaving visitors unfed is a part of Swedish tradition, however that it needs to be accepted as effectively.
“It’s true we don’t serve meals to visitors,” learn the title of an op-ed for The Impartial, penned by Gothenburg-raised Linda Johansson. “What’s much more complicated to me is why that’s even an issue.”
“The Swedish pondering goes like this: the opposite youngster (or the opposite household) could have plans for an additional sort of dinner, and also you wouldn’t need to spoil the routine or preparations,” she added.
Whatever the specific response, nonetheless, the home debate in Sweden has been significantly vivid.
TV channels reminiscent of SVT and TV4 have invited lecturers and cooks to touch upon the roots of Swedish hospitality customs.
The host of a podcast organised by main newspaper Svenska Dagbladet even contemplated whether or not the Swedish authorities might orchestrate a PR marketing campaign to mitigate the controversy, though his feedback have been no less than partly in jest.
“There may be a lot hysteria and seriousness round this that it’s genuinely laborious to determine what’s satire and what’s actual debate,” remarked American-born Stockholm College lecturer Ian Higham. “I want non-Swedish audio system might perceive how absolutely the most entertaining factor about #Swedengate is the lethal severe debate in home media with takes from specialists on ‘meals safety’ and on international coverage choices for salvaging the nationwide model.”
What does #Swedengate inform us in regards to the nation?
On the crux of the controversy lies one query: how did such a light-hearted remark generate such an outcry and debate?
One clarification supplied is simply how central the sharing of meals is in worth programs, and the way that may be interpreted in profoundly dissimilar manners throughout cultures which have completely different social buildings.
“A lot of the angered individuals got here from cultures with a extra collectivist mindset, and in their very own cultures, not sharing is taken into account impolite,” Mariam instructed Euronews. “In the meantime in an individualist tradition, they might not discover it impolite as a result of there’s an understanding that nobody is entitled to the belongings of others.”
For Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede, Sweden’s cultural mannequin — like that of a lot of Europe — is individualistic. That might maybe clarify the distinction in understandings of particular hospitality customs, particularly amongst individuals from collectivist cultures.
However for others, there’s a far much less refined clarification: slightly, it has to do with the Swedish response to the controversy.
“Swedes being very delicate about their picture overseas, doubled right down to attempt to deny or justify the follow,” famous Higham. “Sweden and the Swedish inhabitants make investments some huge cash in cultivating, selling, and defending a nationwide model.”
And the #Swedengate debate has actually gnawed on the pristine veneer of Sweden’s fame. However not simply over the nation’s hospitality customs – slightly, it has opened Pandora’s field by unleashing a wide-ranging dialogue on supposed skeletons within the nation’s closet.
Nordic nations like Sweden have benefitted from an immaculate fame as being “oases of tranquillity”, characterised by a supposedly good document on human rights and democracy.
On account of #Swedengate, feedback and debates have emerged on Sweden’s controversially laissez-faire response to COVID-19, the nation’s therapy of the Saami minority, its historic colonialist associations, and the therapy of individuals of color and immigrants inside Swedish society.
“Karate Kid” actor and “Cobra Kai” TV star Martin Kove was asked to leave a fan convention over the weekend after allegedly biting co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim during a VIP meet-and-greet, according to a report from the Puyallup Police Department obtained by Variety.
The alleged incident occurred Sunday at Summer Con in Puyallup, Wash., where Kove and Hannah-Kim — both of whom appear in the Netflix series — were participating in programming and fan activities.
Reps for Kove did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment. Netflix also did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
According to the report, Hannah-Kim told an officer working the VIP section that, after tapping Kove on the shoulder to say hello, he suddenly grabbed her arm and bit her “so hard he nearly drew blood.” The report states that when she cried out in pain, Kove allegedly started kissing her arm where he had bitten her. The report detailed that Hannah-Kim then told her husband, who was present at the event, and the pair went to confront Kove about the incident.
The report states that upon confronting Kove, he “exploded on them, saying something to the effect of how dare they confront him.” Hannah-Kim and her husband asked the reporting officer to step in and defuse the situation. According to the report, Kove claimed he was trying to be “funny,” adding that they “play fight all the time on the set of ‘Cobra Kai.’” Hannah-Kim reportedly told the officer that she would not file charges, but “wished to have a report filed in case this continues.”
Kove was instructed to leave the venue; the reporting officer advised the actor not to repeat such behavior in the future.
Kove, 78, played John Kreese, the main antagonist in the 1984 film “The Karate Kid.” He later reprised his role in the two film sequels and the television series “Cobra Kai,” which aired for six seasons. Kim, 37, played Kim Da-Eun, the formidable South Korean sensei, who joined the cast in the fifth and sixth seasons.
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President Donald Trump declared Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire after missile exchanges, claiming the ’12-day war’ will end following a phased implementation over 24 hours.
“CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!” Trump shared in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World,” Trump added.
Trump praised both countries for their “Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence” to end what he called “THE 12 DAY WAR.”
WHY DID TRUMP LEAVE G7 EARLY? ‘MUCH BIGGER’ THAN IRAN CEASE-FIRE, HE SAYS
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 21: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout provided by the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) sit in the Situation Room as they monitor the mission that took out three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites, at the White House on June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. According to the Pentagon, three of Iran’s nuclear sites sustained “severe damage” from the U.S. strikes. (Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images)
“This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!” he continued.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN WOULD ‘LIKE TO TALK’ ABOUT DIALING DOWN ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
President Donald Trump and an image of an Israeli strike on Iran. Trump said he believes Israel and Iran can strike a deal to halt the fighting between both nations. (Getty Images; AP)
A senior Iranian official also confirmed the ceasefire deal, according to Reuters.
A diplomat briefed on the ceasefire talks shared more details on the deal with Fox News.
“President Trump spoke with Qatar’s Emir and informed him the U.S. got Israel to agree to a ceasefire with Iran,” the source shared. “The President asked Qatar to help persuade Iran to do the same, following that Vice President Vance coordinated with Qatar’s Prime Minister on the details.”
The source added that “this effort proved successful and, following discussions with the Qatari PM, the Iranians agreed.”
“The deal was coordinated at the highest level by the President and Vice President and the Qatari Emir and Prime Minister directly,” the source continued.
“Despite having been attacked just hours earlier, the Qataris set aside their grievances and prioritized regional security to get the deal done.”
The president’s announcement comes after Iran launched at least six missiles toward America’s Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday, retaliating for Trump’s attack on Tehran’s nuclear program this weekend.
Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the strike in a statement, saying the missiles were destroyed and there were no casualties.
TRUMP SAYS ISRAEL AND IRAN ‘HAVE TO FIGHT IT OUT’ BUT BELIEVES DEAL IS POSSIBLE
“I’d like to thank the Highly Respected Emir of Qatar for all that he has done in seeking Peace for the Region,” Trump wrote in an earlier Monday post.
“Regarding the attack today at the American Base in Qatar, I am pleased to report that, in addition to no Americans being killed or wounded, very importantly, there have also been no Qataris killed or wounded. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
Here are the key events on day 11 of the Israel-Iran conflict.
Here’s where things stand on Monday, June 23:
Fighting
- Iran has fired ballistic missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the United States’ largest military installation in the Middle East. Doha said the attack was intercepted and there were no casualties.
- Fellow Gulf countries Bahrain and Kuwait – which also host US facilities – joined Qatar in closing their airspace, then reopened them.
- Earlier, Israel had struck Tehran’s Evin Prison, notorious for holding political activists. Iranian state television shared surveillance footage of the strike, which reportedly blew the facility’s gate open.
- Explosions were heard on the western outskirts of the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz, capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province, the Fars news agency reported.
- Tasnim news agency reported a strike at an electricity feeder station in the Evin neighbourhood in north Tehran.
- Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country had attacked “regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran”, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command centres.
- Israel also carried out a strike on the Fordow enrichment facility, a day after the US hit the underground site south of Tehran with so-called “bunker buster” bombs.
- The Israeli military issued an evacuation threat to residents of Tehran, telling them to stay away from weapons production centres and military bases.
- Iranian state television said on Monday that the country had targeted the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv. It claimed the majority of its projectiles fired since the early hours of the day had successfully reached their targets.
- Sirens sounded across Israel before noon on Monday, with a large number of impacts recorded in several areas, including the Ashdod area in southern Israel and the Lachish area, south of Jerusalem.
Casualties and disruptions
- Eleven days into the conflict, large numbers of Tehran’s 10 million population have reportedly fled.
- After Israel’s strike on Evin Prison, Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster released video showing rescue workers combing the flattened wreckage of a building at the prison, carrying a wounded man on a stretcher.
- Iranian power company Tavanir said there were power cuts in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
- In Qatar, prior to Iran’s attack on Al Udeid, the US and the United Kingdom had urged their citizens in the country to “shelter in place”.
- Britain said on Monday that a Royal Air Force flight carrying 63 British nationals and their dependents out of Israel had left Tel Aviv.
- A number of airlines, including Kuwait Airways, Finnair and Singapore Airlines, have suspended operations in the Middle East. Air India said it was not only halting operations to the region, but also stopping flights to and from the US east coast and Europe.
Politics and diplomacy
- After Iran’s attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, US President Donald Trump thanked Tehran for giving him ”early notice” of the attack, which he described as a ”very weak response” to the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. In a separate post, he thanked the emir of Qatar for his peace efforts.
- A spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said that the country considered the Iranian attack to be a “surprise”, announcing the situation in the country was safe.
-
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted on his Farsi-language X account: “We have not violated anyone’s rights, nor will we ever accept anyone violating ours, and we will not surrender to anyone’s violation; this is the logic of the Iranian nation.”
-
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a statement posted by his ministry on Telegram that Iran would be ready to respond again in case of further action by the US.
- Earlier in the day, Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Khamenei, said bases used by US forces “in the region or elsewhere” could be attacked – that evening, Iran targeted Al Udeid in Qatar.
- Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, pledged that the country would take “firm action” in response to US strikes on key nuclear sites the day before. “This crime and desecration will not go unanswered,” he said on state television.
- Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, addressed US intervention in the war in a video statement, saying: “Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it.”
- Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said a parliamentary committee had approved a general plan to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- Iran’s mission to the United Nations said the US, the UK, France, Israel and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi were responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians and the destruction of infrastructure.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed attacks on Iran as “unprovoked” and “unjustified” in a Moscow meeting with Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, “Our strategic partnership with Iran is unbreakable,” but was not drawn on the question of whether Iran had requested military help – or whether any help would be forthcoming.
- After Israel’s attack on Tehran’s Evin Prison, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote “Viva la libertad!”, Spanish for “long live liberty”, on X.
- French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that the Israeli strike on Tehran’s Evin Prison, which holds some French prisoners, was unacceptable.
- China’s UN ambassador, Fu Cong, said US credibility was “damaged” after its bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites, warning the conflict could “go out of control”, according to the state broadcaster.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said of Sunday’s US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites: “Yes, it is not without risk, but leaving it as it was wasn’t an option either.”
- British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said his country stood ready to “defend our personnel, our assets and those of our allies and partners”.
- NATO chief Mark Rutte said alliance members had “long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon” and called an Iranian atomic bomb his “greatest fear”.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply and a potential lever for retaliatory action.
- The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said closing the strait would be “extremely dangerous”.
- US President Trump posted an online message on oil production to the US Department of Energy, encouraging it to “drill, baby, drill”, and saying, “I mean now.”
- Reza Pahlavi, the long-exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah, but not seen as a player with any real influence in Iran itself, warned the US and Europe not to throw a “lifeline” to Iran’s current leadership. “This is our Berlin Wall moment,” he said in an interview with the AFP news agency.
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