A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Sweden’s Deputy PM used fake AI quote in landmark speech

Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ebba Busch, has apologised for using a fake AI quote attributed to the cultural journalist Elina Pahnke in her speech at the Almedalen political festival in June. 

In her speech, Busch quoted Pahnke as having said that “Men’s power is not an abstraction – it is concrete, and it crushes lives.”

Pahnke pointed out the mistake in a text in Aftonbladet on Thursday. “I’m listening to Ebba Busch’s speech again. I don’t recognize the quote. Did I really write that?”

In a post on Facebook, Busch explained that the quote had been fabricated by an AI tool. 

“That I attributed to her something she did not say verbatim is extremely unfortunate and I would of course like to apologize to both her and everyone who listened,” Busch wrote.

In the post, Busch said the AI tool when questioned over where the quote had come had said that it came from a “deleted tweet” by Pahnke and an article in the magazine Arbetet from 2017.

“This is a completely new situation for us that we receive a direct source that turns out not to be true. We are taking this seriously and it means that we will work differently going forward,” Busch wrote.

Swedish vocabulary: En direkt källa – a direct source

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High summer inflation could delay rate cuts

A sharp rise in the cost of packet tour holidays and groceries led to unexpectedly high inflation in July, according to new detailed figures from Statistics Sweden, leading several economists at banks in Sweden to predict that the rate cut planned for next week could be delayed until later in the year, or even pushed into next year. 

“The big picture is that inflation is way over the Riksbank’s target,” said Susanne Spector, chief economist at Danske Bank, saying she had been surprised by a 1.1 percent month on month increase in food prices, largely driven by sales of ice cream and soda drinks. 

Statistics Sweden said that the cost of packet tours, car hire and groceries had contributed most to the rise in prices between June and July.

Alexandra Stråberg, economist for the Länsförsäkringar bank, said that she thought there was now little chance of the Riksbank cutting interest rates next week, and Spector was doubtful that there would be a further rate cut this year. 

Swedish vocabulary: sänkning – a rate cut (literally “a sinking”) 

Strawberry Hotels cuts butter from hotels

The Strawberry Hotels chain, which includes brand like Comfort Hotels and Quality Hotels, is replacing butter with plant-based alternatives at most of its hotels in Sweden and Finland, a change that will save over 4 million kronor in Sweden alone, and will also reduce the chain’s climate impact. 

The hotel will still use butter when necessary for cooking, however. 

“It’s difficult to make a good Hollandaise without ordinary butter, so we’re not taking away all butter from the hotels, but we are replacing it as standard where ordinary butter is not required for taste or consistency,” the chain’s chief executive, Torgeir Silseth, said in a comment. 

Swedish vocabulary: att ersätta – to replace 

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Squatter on Stockholm island stops visitors

Two of the Årsta holmar islands between Södermalm and Årsta in Stockholm have been closed off to villagers after an unknown person converted a shelter for sheep into a stuga or summer house. 

“This is a security issue, because we don’t know who is living there and why. What we know is that someone has settled themselves there quite thoroughly and set up some kind of alarm system,” Peter Lind, safety coordinator for Södermalm, told the Mitt i Stockholm newspaper. 

According to a report to the police, illegal electric wiring has been taken to the shed, trees have been cut down, cats brought out and another shack been used as a toilet. 

The Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) has been asked to evict the person. 

Swedish vocabulary: att göra sig hemmastadd – to make yourself at home/settle