Praises NRK for not canceling Sophie Elise: – A dangerous track

After Sophie Elise Isachsen posted a photo of herself and another influencer on Instagram on Sunday, criticism has been pouring in.

NRK does not escape either. On Tuesday, complaints pour in to the Broadcasting Council – so many that they hardly have time to register them.

The reason for the uproar is one small detail in the picture, which was removed from the platform shortly after being posted.

In the photo, the other influencer is holding a small bag with what looks like a white powder in it.

By 3.30pm on Tuesday, the Broadcasting Council had received approximately 550 complaints.

Despite the storm of complaints, NRK chose to refrain from commenting on the case. However, they are clear that they will continue their collaboration with Isachsen.

It is praised by some and criticized by others.

Supports NRK

In September, Isachsen and her friend Fetisha Williams became NRK profiles through the launch of the podcast “Sophie & Fetisha”.

NRK Entertainment owns and is behind the podcast.

In the complaints to the Broadcasting Council, several people believe that NRK must end its cooperation with Isachsen.

NRK has said that they will not comment on the case, as the photo was not taken or published in an NRK context. Nor do they plan to terminate the agreement with the influencer.

– Given the information Sophie Elise has given us, this will not have consequences for the collaboration between her and NRK, and the podcast will come out as planned on Thursday, said Christina Rezk Resar, acting editor at NRK Entertainment, in a comment to TV 2.

NRK’s ​​decision arouses reactions in several places. On social media, there are several people who express strong dissatisfaction that the Instagram picture has no consequences for the influencer.

However, communications advisor and speaker Hans-Petter Nygård-Hansen completely disagrees with the criticism.

Kudos to NRK for not throwing out or canceling Sophie Elise. It has almost become the new normal in these Woke times, he says.

Since Sunday, TV 2 has been trying to get in touch with Isachsen and the other influencer. After repeated requests, Isachsen and her management have not yet responded. The same applies to the other influencer in the picture.

– A dangerous track

The reason why Nygård-Hansen believes that the case should not have consequences for Isachsen is that she has demonstrably done nothing wrong.

– She has not been convicted of anything, she is not holding the bag and we do not know the contents of the bag.

– If NRK or other companies blindly start firing people and terminating contracts based on speculation and rumors because it feels right and because it is the safest choice based on which direction the wind is blowing in social media, we are on a dangerous track, he means.

TV 2 is also not familiar with the contents of the bag, which has caused many to react.

– But Sophie Elise is a role model for many. Doesn’t the image send an unfortunate signal anyway?

– She is a role model. A complex role model who one day fights against palm oil and for animal welfare, and the next day operates ass and is named Norway’s most dangerous influencer, says Nygård-Hansen.

At the same time, he questions whether we as a society should cancel everyone who says or thinks something we don’t like.

– And can we expect that a role model is always a positive role model? And who decides what is good and what is not? It’s the mob in social media.

– Suppressive effect

Nygård-Hansen says that he is worried about the society we have become as a result of social media.

– Social media has in many ways developed into a society where we look for faults in others, interpret everything in the worst sense and demand immediate cancellation as punishment for everything that is said if it is not politically correct or in the interests of the majority, he says.

Woke is a term, which in short means to be on guard against social injustice. The critics believe that the movement is far too concerned with being politically correct.

– Those who shout the loudest in social media about inclusion, diversity and tolerance are often the least tolerant. The wake wave has a suppressive effect on freedom of expression.

Nygård-Hansen feels that people too much want their feelings to rule the agenda and society in general.

– There is a strange kind of morality and ethics going on in social media, where emotions trump facts, and where “wrong statements” must be stifled by force. It is a dangerous development where cancellation is the punishment for not agreeing with the opinions of the “movement”.

– Merely pointing out such a development can be enough to be cancelled, says Nygård-Hansen.

Internal disagreement in NRK

Although NRK has publicly called Isachsen, there is disagreement within the media company about the handling.

– I notice that our ethics manual is practiced differently by those who are permanent employees and those who are contractors. We disagree with that. We believe that the regulations should be applied equally, he says and adds:

– If it had been a permanent employee at NRK, there would have been consequences, says head of the Norwegian Journalist Association’s NRK department, NRKJ, Rolf Johansen.

TV 2 has contacted Christina Rezk Resar, acting editor at NRK Entertainment. She has not yet responded to TV 2’s inquiries.

Johansen is clear that he disagrees with this practice, and hopes for a change.

– NRK has settled on a line where they allow more for external profiles. It is a line we disagree with. We believe that for listeners, viewers and readers it is of no importance what kind of affiliation contract the individual has with NRK. They appear as NRK profiles for the public.

TV 2 is not aware of whether the other influencer knew that the photo was to be published on Sophie’s Elise’s profile, and TV 2 is also not aware that the person in question has shared the photo himself. Therefore, TV 2 chooses not to name the influencer.