Prime Minister Petteri Orpo The press conference held last week on April 10, 2026 and its coverage vividly highlighted the wretchedness of Finnish political journalism.
At the event, Orpo shed light on the updating of his government's upcoming foreign and security policy report. Not a single journalist intervened in the prime minister's meaningless rant that "the change in the law will not make Finland a nuclear weapons state."
With the same slogan, both the president Alexander Stubb that Prime Minister Orpo has deliberately sought to hide the essence of the amendment to the law, which will enable the import and deployment of nuclear weapons in Finland, as well as the transit of nuclear weapons, if the United States so wishes. No journalist brought up this most essential aspect when reporting on the press conference.
The news coverage focused on Orpo's mantra, in which he emphasized one thing: "Finland does not intend to deploy nuclear weapons in peacetime." This was, for example, reported by Helsingin Sanomat. Julian Puumalainen ja Elina Kervinen The essence of the news. The journalists did not critically examine this claim either, even though the decision to transfer nuclear weapons to Finland is not now and will never be in Finland's hands.
The same hymn on Yle
Yle reported that, according to Orpo, the upcoming government proposal contains "a clear message that Finland will not become a nuclear weapons state despite the change in the law." Journalists also Matti Hara ja Marica Paukkeri They failed to mention that the claim is completely absurd and has no meaning, because in order to become a "nuclear weapons state", Finland would have to develop nuclear weapons itself and control them.
Yle started singing hymns in March Fire Flower De Fresnes, which reported that, according to Orpo, the foreign and security policy report will supposedly include a "clear line" on Finland's nuclear weapons policy and its limits: "The key message is that Finland will not become a nuclear weapons state."
Hidden truth
The coverage of the prime minister's press conference revealed a grim picture of the professional competence of journalists. Is it a question of mental laziness, ignorance, self-censorship, or something else? In any case, the news conveyed exactly the cover-up with which the state leadership seeks to manipulate and mislead citizens.
The news readers remembered only two irrational sentences as part of the foreign and security policy report: “Finland will not become a nuclear weapons state” and “Nuclear weapons will be brought to Finland in peacetime.” Both claims cover up the government’s opposite goals, as in reality the legal amendment will remove all restrictions related to nuclear weapons.
It is pitiful to experience that journalists, whose journalistic honor would require the opposite, participate in hiding the truth, even lying, or at least manipulating it.
9 comments on the post “Poor journalism about the nuclear browser change"
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Erkki Jalkanen says:
15.4.2026 13:05
Do you remember anything wise that Finland would have done after the Paris Peace Treaty?
The 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1975 OSCE Summit…
Erkki Jalkanen says:
15.4.2026 13:05
“…A drunk driver gets a ticket for endangering traffic, but the political elite, who are ready to destroy an entire nation for the interests of foreign powers, are allowed to continue their activities in peace. Is that wise?”
As far as I understand, the only instance that can do something is the Supreme Court. The question of questions: who/who will make/make the request for investigation that would lead to an indictment..
The government's explanations are again a bunch of gibberish that HS is playing with. It makes no difference whether Finland is called a nuclear weapons state or not, because where the issue causes a response, the situation is assessed on the basis of the facts, and not on the basis of what is written on the label. The essential thing in the matter is that we are allowing the import of nuclear weapons or related material into Finland, and most obviously to be launched from elsewhere.
Has Finland withdrawn from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and if not, has the treaty already expired, or what is the explanation? The government has again pulled the trigger on its citizens and international treaties. But that seems to be the way of the country.
It's probably a combination of two things. First, the politicians' misleading rhetoric has also worked on journalists. Second, journalists have been brainwashed into the same anti-Russian sentiment as the majority of the rest of the population, as a result of which they welcome anything they think will harm Russia and fail to consider that they are also endangering their own lives and the lives of their families.
There is no foreign policy journalism in Finland anymore. It has been replaced by self-censorship monitored by Mediapool, which is carried out under the supervision of editors-in-chief. The situation is much worse than in Kekkonen's strongest years, when everyone knew, including the citizens, that the President of the Republic had taken responsibility for not making a fuss in foreign policy. Now proactive self-censorship is carried out quietly, without the citizens who read the newspapers and follow Yle news getting any hint of what is systematically left unsaid.
Now that Finland is no longer an independent, non-aligned and sovereign state actor, such antics with nuclear weapons legislation will be normal. According to official propaganda, Finland is a state that independently decides its own policy in both the EU and NATO. In reality, independence is limited to some details, such as taxation. There is no independence at all in foreign policy. Finland has to obey the orders of both the US and EU leaders. At times, this can create difficult balance problems, but as we have seen, the Finnish mainstream media does not ask difficult questions, but servilely remains silent in embarrassing situations.
This situation does not depend on the names or colors of the parties forming the government. Our fate is not in our own hands. It is the job of journalists to make sure that this is never talked about in the media.
"There is no independence at all in foreign policy."
That's probably the case in the big picture, but it's also possible to push back on individual issues. For example, as far as I know, many NATO countries did not support Trump and Netanyahu's brutal attack on Iran. Although NATO as an organization probably did not require it.
If the US-NATO were to plan or launch a similar attack or serious provocations against Russia, Finland would be wise to refuse to participate in such an attack. When the actions become public, Finland would be in a hurry to make it known to Russia that the Finnish military will not participate in the project and that Finland will not otherwise support it.
"If the US-NATO were to plan or launch a similar attack or serious provocations against Russia, Finland would be wise to refuse to participate in such a move. When the actions become public, Finland would be in a hurry to make it known to Russia that the Finnish military will not participate in the project and that Finland does not otherwise support it."
How does Stubb's statement "The Ukrainian war is my war" fit into this...?
Finland would do it wisely, but it doesn't. One can still hope for that.
Do you remember anything wise that Finland would have done after the Paris Peace Treaty?
EU accession? Tuloz: a bankrupt hellhole whose economic growth doesn't even cover the debt to repair public infrastructure, a complete failure to develop.
NATO accession? Result: An attack platform for Russia, and the front line of confrontation. Is it wise?
What is the national interest/goal here?
A drunk driver gets a ticket for endangering traffic, but the political elite, who are ready to destroy an entire nation for the interests of foreign powers, are allowed to continue their activities in peace. Is that wise?