DISINFO: Bloody proposal of a Swedish professor: eat human flesh
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
  • Outlet: fr.sputniknews.com (archived)*
  • Date of publication: September 10, 2019
  • Outlet language(s): French
  • Reported in: Issue 164
  • Countries / regions discussed: Sweden
Tags:
Western values West

DISINFO: Bloody proposal of a Swedish professor: eat human flesh

SUMMARY

A Swedish professor of Applied Behavioral Science suggested that one should consider cannibalism and start eating human flesh. According to him, this could save the planet from climate change. In an interview with TV4, Magnus Söderlund, professor emeritus and director of the Consumer Marketing Center at the Stockholm School of Economics, spoke in favour of a diet based on human flesh. According to him, eating human flesh could help fight climate change if the global community accepted this idea. However, Söderlund indicates that the main obstacle to this proposal is the taboo surrounding the consumption of dead humans because most people are “slightly conservative” when it comes to eating foods they are not used to.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative demonizing Western values and painting Europe as a continent of degrading moral standards. The author makes a series of remarkable logical leaps by misquoting one person and presenting the doctored quote as proof of the imminent collapse of Western culture. Soderlund did not advocate cannibalism out of his supposed liberal or environmentalist convictions. In fact, he did not advocate it at all. Although the story of the pro-cannibalism Swedish professor has been reported in Swedish, UK, and US tabloids since at least 5 September, only one website provided enough context to show that Soderlund's remarks were a cautionary tale about the consequences of climate change rather than an invitation to man-eating: "While talking about the Gastro Summit focused on 'food on the future' on Swedish TV, the behavioral scientist and marketing strategist Magnus Söderlund from the Stockholm School of Economics proposed that in order to truly take on the effects of climate change, we must 'awake the idea' that eating human flesh should be discussed as an option in the future." See here for a detailed debunk.

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Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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