back to article Swedish teens GO BERSERK in Instagram sex pic slut riot

Swedish kids rioted and blockaded a school after someone put photos of Gothenburg's teens on Instagram and tagged them as "sluts". Children as young as 13 were so offended by the online slur that they formed a mob to hunt down a 17-year-old girl believed to be responsible for the controversial Instagram account. Police …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    At least they will be even more famous when the images are used for advertising.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Teenage Wasteland

    "...The protesters are kicking down lampposts..."

    WTF! —are these kids or Godzillas?

    1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

      You're in the right area

      It's like one of those Japanese combining robots. Never underestimate the power of a few hormone fueled teenagers in a group. The lampposts didn't stand a chance

    2. Piro Silver badge

      Re: Teenage Wasteland

      Well, I did see an article on the BBC saying that Swedish women were exceptionally healthy..

  3. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. taxman
    Coat

    Gym slips & hockey sticks

    Plusgymnasiet high school - the Swedish equivalent of our St Trinians?

    (Where's my wallet?)

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Unhappy

      Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

      Ah girls hockey, where someone decided that the solution to the latent aggression in groups of hormonally charged teenage girls was to hand them all lumps of wood and have them learn to hit a small very hard ball at lethal velocity.

      What (to coin a phrase) could possibly go wrong?

      1. Rampant Spaniel

        Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

        having been on a rugby team that ended up playing the school hockey team at hockey, I can say an awful lot can go wrong :-) Absolute blood bath. I expected the backs to get broken, a gentle breeze normall does that, but even a decent prop goes down after taking a hockey ball between the posts. We learnt a lot about hiding fouls from the ref that day.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

          Now, if you happen to live in Britain have a pause for a thought.

          That my friend is the sport of our future queen.

        2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
          Unhappy

          Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

          "having been on a rugby team that ended up playing the school hockey team at hockey, I can say an awful lot can go wrong :-) Absolute blood bath. I expected the backs to get broken, a gentle breeze normall does that, but even a decent prop goes down after taking a hockey ball between the posts. We learnt a lot about hiding fouls from the ref that day."

          I guess the "ladies" felt a little intimidated so decided to get their retaliation in early.

          They're just not used to how vulnerable the male anatomy is (unless like a sumo you've practiced being able to retract them back into your body cavity, which is fairly rare).

          Someone I suspected this was not going to end well.

      2. Mage Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

        Well, there is also Camogie. It's alleged that the schools that play that, field those teams on inter-school hockey matches. The Hockey players think they are a little rough.

        Then there is the REAL Man's sport. Very like ice hockey, but since there is no ice they use a ball in the air. It's called "Hurling". The US "football" armour might be appropriate.

        Hockey is civilised.

        1. Rampant Spaniel

          @mage

          There is worse than hockey? Even lacrosse isn't that violent, hell goat vs t rex in Jurassic Park wasn't as violent as our hockey team. Rugby has a few scrapes to it, the odd punch in the scrum, boots to the ribs etc but generally it stops at broken bones. Those 'girls' were absolutely manic, hockeys sticks to the shins, groin and face repeatedly not to mention their ability to crack ribs with the ball. If there is worse I'm not sure I want to know about it.

          1. johnv2020

            Re: @mage

            Can I introduce the uninitiated to the Irish game of hurling, best described as a cross between hockey and murder. Like hockey but no restrictions on where you can swing the stick. Examples of this fine sport can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfa3j1OwLlY and at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es2nH_HWoCo

      3. vagabondo
        Headmaster

        Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

        @John Smith 19

        to coin a phrase !== "use a cliché"

    2. CCCP
      Mushroom

      Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

      Ironically, the pupils at Plusgymnasiet are "helping build a safer environment for homeless people in Gothenburg". Presumably the slut list wasn't part of this initiative.

      The name of said project is Lamp Post - though they may have to change that now that they have been kicked down.

      FWIW Plusgymnasiet have 15 schools in all the major cities in Sweden, so there is plenty of scope to expand the slut list for nationwide mayhem and rioting.

      They're a for profit commercial outfit, the kind the gubbermint wants to see more of here and often held up as an example of success. As an aside, the Swedes are far from happy that companies are profiting from education while Sweden's international table position is slipping in e.g. maths.

      Intriguingly, their website says parents and "affected pupils" will be contacted shortly via "schoolsoft". So there's another IT angle if we need it. Schoolsoft's website www.schoolsoft.se disappointingly makes no mention of sluts or riots.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Facepalm

        Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

        "As an aside, the Swedes are far from happy that companies are profiting from education while Sweden's international table position is slipping in e.g. maths."

        First of all, kindly speak for yourself. Surely, there are many people here in Sweden who think like you, but not everybody is an envious social democrat or communist who misses the times when Olof Palme was flirting with the murderer Erich Honecker.

        And please elaborate why making profit on education is inherently bad? Is it bad, for instance, if a printing works which prints text books makes profit? What about a paper mill which supplies it? Should everybody in the whole supply chain operate with losses merely because according to certain fanatics it is a mortal sin to make profit on education?

        1. Steen Hive
          Thumb Down

          Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

          So you ARE happy the quality of Swedish secondary education is plummeting like a stone then? Of course you are - more unskilled, semi-literate knobs to populate minimum-wage jobs so Reinfeldt's and Borg's pals can siphon off the old Kr to the Cayman Islands - what's not to like?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Gym slips & hockey sticks

            Being busy launching a straw man attack, Steen Hive, you forgot to answer my original question, which was why making profit on education is inherently bad.

  5. Haku

    "The protesters are kicking down lampposts and jumping on cars,"

    Hulk smash?

  6. Andrew Moore

    Funny...

    I'm just back from Gotenborg with the children- I decided to take them there to visit the Christmas markets because my plan to take them to Belfast had to be dropped because of the Union Flag riots there...

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Happy

      Re: Funny...

      Jonah! You're responsible!

      How much do I have to pay you not to visit, or even plan to visit, my town?

  7. Paul Naylor
    Childcatcher

    Tch!

    Whatever did we do before social networking?

    1. Simon Round
      Unhappy

      Re: Tch!

      I seem to remember having a life.

      1. MrXavia
        Holmes

        Re: Tch!

        I still have a life, after social media

        Social media has a purpose, in keeping contact with friends around the world in different time zones,

        but it is no substitute to real contact with friends!

    2. Ted Treen
      Pint

      <------------

      (Hic)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Tch!

      Fiddled with our kiddies.

      Or have I got it the wrong way 'round?

      I'm confused :-|

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There's a lesson in that

    You might think that anonymity provides protection in the virtual world, but piss enough people off and a pitchfork-waving mob is still an option.

    1. sabroni Silver badge

      Re: There's a lesson in that

      Surely that all depends on whether the alleged perpetrator was actually at the school that got surrounded. They could be in the rioting mob for all anyone knows.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: There's a lesson in that

        Good point, but I think mine still stands - as the article says, they formed a mob to hunt down a 17-year-old girl believed to be responsible. If I were the perpetrator then I would be very afraid, even if the mob had got it wrong.

        1. Psyx
          WTF?

          Re: There's a lesson in that

          "they formed a mob to hunt down a 17-year-old girl believed to be responsible."

          I'm not sure how jumping on cars and breaking stuff moved them closer to that goal.

          It might be more of a case of forming a mob to break shit and act like dicks.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: There's a lesson in that

            Individuals can be either smart or dumb, mobs can only be dumb.

          2. Rampant Spaniel

            @psyx

            That is true, but kids sometimes don't make the best choices (adults also). Has there been any video footage on the tv yet?

            1. Psyx
              Pint

              Re: @psyx

              I suspect there's probably a bunch of shakily-filmed close-ups on Youtube, and some sepia-toned shots on Instagram. Or 'evidence' as the authorities might call it.

              I'd like to think that no matter how hacked off with an individual I was, I wouldn't use it as an excuse for vandalising nearby cars by jumping up and down on them. I never got the urge to as a child, either. I get angry, but spraying that wrath around like putrid vomit onto the lives of bystanders isn't really ever excusable.

              1. Rampant Spaniel

                Again very true, but mob mentality is a very complex thing. People do tend to get carried away, especially if there are a few real nutters in there to stir it up and emotions running high. I'm not excusing their behavior by any means! Apologies if I gave that impression. I'm just not overly shocked, the lamp posts thing was a little crazy!

              2. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: @psyx

                Here is a short clip from the GP site.

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b0CleBsrgfk

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: There's a lesson in that

      There is a very human response that any major feeling of offence needs to be assuaged by someone being held responsible. Unfortunately the mob mentality wants someone, anyone, to hang - so that they can feel "safe" again. Rational thought about any factual evidence of a nominated person's guilt tends to be an afterthought.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The tone of the police statements is interesting - and in my opinion very Swedish. They are quite candid about the unexpected escalation after they were initially involved. Their concern was apparently about maintaining public safety - rather than condemning the students per se. However my Swedish is too rusty to be certain of any nuances.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    According to the Aftonbladet newspaper there are messages circulating for more disturbances on Wednesday. The 17 year old girl rumoured to have made the picture postings says she is innocent. The police have received forty libel complaints about the pictures.

    Google Translate still amazes me.

    http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article15953354.ab

    1. Richard Cartledge
      Thumb Down

      Sorry, we are unable to translate the page you requested.

      http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article15953354.ab

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Google Translate

        Must admit Google Translate was only used to cut&paste individual paragraphs that were of interest but not fully understood. Quicker than digging out the paper dictionary. Don't know when my browser "right-click translate this page" facility disappeared.

  11. This post has been deleted by its author

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sounds like a starting point for a BBC4 swedish detective series ... anyone called Saga Noren (Malmo Police) yet?

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Happy

      "Sounds like a starting point for a BBC4 swedish detective series ... anyone called Saga Noren (Malmo Police) yet?"

      Ms Noren's very special conversational skills demonstrated that even Swede's can be embarrassed to the point of wishing the ground would open up and swallow them.

      I'm sort of hoping there will be a sequel.

      The effects of her interrogation skills on a group of teenage girls should be quite profound.

  13. MrXavia

    Posting pictures of people and calling them sluts, that is just evil...

    I think a good punishment would be the stocks!

    Not surprised that Intstagram T&C's ban nudity though, its an American site, they are obsessed with nudity as a taboo....

    1. Ted Treen
      Happy

      Fixed it.

      "...it's an American site, they are obsessed with nudity."

      There, that's closer.

      1. MrXavia
        Thumb Up

        Re: Fixed it.

        Obsessed and ashamed at the same time!

    2. sisk
      Joke

      I think a good punishment would be the stocks!

      Would that stock be in Playboy, Hustler, or Brazzers?

  14. David Roberts
    Paris Hilton

    Irresistable force?

    A post asking for pictures of sluts, aimed at teens?

    Surely only a matter of time before the entire local population appeared tagged as sluts.

    Including grannys, pets, farm animals and the occasional piece of architecture.

    Could anyone swear that they could resist such overwhelming temptation?

    Or really consider that the postings were in any way serious?

    Once the posts started accumulating, there would be the irresistable temptaton to post something more outrageous than the last one.

    So why all the fuss about one poster, but no hunt for the person who originated the whole thing?

    Sounds like a bunch of bored kids looking for an excuse to trash stuff.

    [Memories of the riots in the UK.]

    Oh, my humble contribution top left ;-)

    1. NorthernCoder
      Childcatcher

      Re: Irresistable force?

      "So why all the fuss about one poster, but no hunt for the person who originated the whole thing?"

      Unless you refer to Zuckerberg et al as "the person who originated the whole thing", the which hunt IS for that person.

      And you seem to forget that to hormone-filled teenagers anything concerning themselves or their friends is very serious. Especially slander and unwanted publication of "selfies".

      Icon for obvious reasons.

  15. Bill Fresher

    What's wrong with being a slut? I think they're lovely.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/I_Am_A.jpg

    2. h3

      Re : Bill Fresher

      Dunno about being a slut but whoring on the sly seems to mess up women's psyche (Over say a decade).

      Don't think the same thing happens to men.

      Might be the 24/7 lying.

  16. Not That Andrew

    Friends who live in Sweden tell me that rural Swedes view the cities, particularly Goteburg, with the sort of suspicion and horror that the British reserve for the worst sink estates. This goes some way to explaining that.

    1. NorthernCoder
      Trollface

      In much the same way as...

      ...those of us living in the big cities view the rural Swedes with the sort of suspicion and horror that the Americans reserve for southern rednecks (cue banjo music).

      I.e. when it comes down to reality, it's mostly hot air and not that much real fear or dislike.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Business model collapsing

    It is rather lovely to watch the business model of both Instagram and Facebook collapsing, as all the "what could possibly go wrong"s seem to converge at once.

    Paris, because she is the embodiment, indeed perhaps the goddess, of "what could possibly go wrong".

    1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Business model collapsing

      Implosion:

      Rapid contraction of cooling gas

      About sums it up I think.

  18. jonathan keith
    Headmaster

    Headline

    Berserk.

    That is all.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Headline

      The kids who write for El Reg haven't found their computers' spelling tools yet.

      Perhaps they will one day. I hold little hope for their grammar.

  19. CCCP
    Mushroom

    The 17-year old denies everything, goes into hiding

    In a post modern twist the teenager, in an interview with the Expressen newspaper yesterday, said it actually started with someone else posting a photograph of her with attached slurry(?) verbiage on the now famous Instagram account. She then emailed the the account holder and threatened to go to the police if they didn't remove the picture.

    She says the account holder/s then starting spreading the rumour that she was responsible. Riots ensued.

    Police have questioned her, and she is now in hiding at a "secret address". Her mum is "upset", not surprisingly, and that she "knows she didn't do this". Further, "the person responsible should sit at home and be ashamed".

    Sooo.... If she is telling the truth, who is the actual little toerag? Why isn't the police chasing the actual account holder? The mum is very restrained, I'd want to disembowel the little fucker.

    Interview is here in Swedish: www.expressen.se/nyheter/17-aringen-talar-ut-om-instagram-upploppet/

    1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
      Boffin

      Re: The 17-year old denies everything, goes into hiding

      ".....She says the account holder/s then starting spreading the rumour that she was responsible....." It should be pretty simple for the Police to trace the real prankster just by access to the accounts. Given the reportedly large amount of racist comments on the original page, I'd be looking at any Nazi-loving gangs at the school. With luck the perp will be locked away soon.

      1. Psyx
        Stop

        Re: The 17-year old denies everything, goes into hiding

        "Given the reportedly large amount of racist comments on the original page, I'd be looking at any Nazi-loving gangs at the school."

        Racism isn't the stand-out pointer that it would be here, because it's scarily common in Scandinavia. They might be good on human rights, but they seem to be about 20 years behind us when it comes to racist language and attitudes.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: The 17-year old denies everything, goes into hiding

          Not so sure about that one - Swedes are just increasingly tired of immigrant-related problems. That's what you end up with if you accept 5 times the number of immigrants per-capita compared to other European countries.

          In a recent report it was found that 75 % of all members of "street gangs" in Sweden (that's including organised crime gangs) are immigrants. At the same time mainstream media do their best to hide this fact - so people get very frustrated.

          Finally, reportedly the rioters as well as the "sluts" are mainly immigrants too. So there you have it, it's likely an effect of the "honour-culture" that is, now, common in Sweden.

  20. Mark 'Brain Fart' Berry

    Hmmm, whats the problem with being tagged an "end"?

    Doesn't slut mean end in Swedish? Unless you prepend Bell ofc....

    1. NorthernCoder
      Headmaster

      Re: Hmmm, whats the problem with being tagged an "end"? - Lost in translation

      For the purposes of your pun, you are right, although it is pronounced roughly as "sleuth" minus the 'h', rhyming with loot.

      In the actual case, they pupils were tagged with some slang variation of "whore".

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Hmmm, whats the problem with being tagged an "end"? - Lost in translation

        Grammar pedant FAIL!

        How/why did you let "prepend" slip past?

        1. NorthernCoder
          Stop

          Re: Hmmm, whats the problem with being tagged an "end"? - Lost in translation

          I didn't want to touch that sentence even with a ~3m pole.

          How/why did you let "Bell", "ofc" and "..." (just to give a few examples) slip past?

  21. FunkyEric
    Joke

    Won't somebody think of the childrern?

    Ahhhh it appears they already did so........

  22. Ken Hagan Gold badge

    "The trouble started when an anonymous Instagram user ..."

    Are they anonymous to Instagram, or merely other users?

    If they are truly anonymous, then Instagram should be held liable for the content. If not, they should be willing to identify the user to the authorities.

    Anonymity is an important right in certain situations. Using it to cover up for teenage bullying cheapens the whole concept and this should not be tolerated.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "The trouble started when an anonymous Instagram user ..."

      Shut up smelly.

  23. MissingSecurity

    I'm Confused...

    Was there actual nudies posted that refered to them as sluts...

    or

    Were people just posting peoples pictures calling them sluts?

    One suggests they are in fact sluts and the other is common drama/humor mechanism.

    On a side note...WTF are they more pissed at the poster rather than people calling them sluts? The person just re post what others were saying. I need a drink...

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Typical

    Dumbarse Yoof...

  25. southpacificpom
    Paris Hilton

    What a slut!

    The article should have been retitled "Sexy Swedish sluts sweep streets seeking sex snapper"

  26. Joerg
    FAIL

    Kids and teens using drugs.. should just be put in jail forever

    Drugs are the main issue nowadays.

    Until drugs won't be banned for real this is only going to escalate further.

  27. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    Awesome

    100s of people showed up to whup someone's ass for claiming they were sluts, and then just started wrecking stuff? That's fucking awesome.

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