Brief
Linköping Municipality is one of Sweden’s fastest-growing cities and a hub for innovation, technology, and public responsibility. As a local government, the municipality holds an important role in ensuring the safety, resilience, and preparedness of its citizens – both in the physical and digital space.
Part of this responsibility includes understanding new forms of digital threats that can affect democracy, public trust, and especially young people’s ability to navigate today’s complex information landscape. As society becomes more digitized and AI-driven, the municipality must be ready to act — not just with infrastructure and services, but also with smart communication, education, and tools that protect and empower the public.
Background
In recent years, foreign actors, troll farms, and coordinated campaigns have increasingly used subsidized content on social media to influence young audiences. These can appear as regular posts, memes, videos, or accounts posing as influencers or activists — but are in fact backed by political or ideological agendas, often from hostile governments or organized networks.
AI now plays a large role in generating content that seems authentic. This includes:
- Fake news stories from fabricated “sources”
- Images or videos that are AI-generated or deepfaked
- Subtle manipulation through repetition of false narratives
- “Sponsored” propaganda that bypasses platform rules
These posts are often subsidized — paid for and amplified by external actors — making them harder to trace or flag. The goal: to change opinions, sow doubt, or simply confuse. For municipalities like Linköping, this is a growing issue as it directly impacts young people’s trust in institutions, and their mental well-being.
Challenge
Your task is to develop a concept that helps build digital resilience among youth. This could take the form of a technological tool, a creative campaign, an educational format – or something entirely new.
How might we raise awareness of how manipulated content works? What can be done to empower critical thinking without creating fear or cynicism? And what role should a municipality play in defending truth and trust in the digital age?
Linköping Municipality is looking for bold, practical, and youth-focused ideas that can be tested or further developed. Your solution should be grounded in real needs – and inspire a safer, more informed digital future.