Lundsberg invited influencer for positive image amid scrutiny
Lundsberg boarding school invited influencer and TV host Mauri Hermundsson to make a video presenting a “more positive picture” of the institution while it faced regulatory and media scrutiny, according to internal school newsletters and interviews with SVT.
The school’s operations manager, Lars Jonsson, wrote in a newsletter in late February that negative media coverage had caused a significant drop in applications. He noted that Hermundsson’s YouTube videos often reach over 500,000 views and target teenagers, making the clip an opportunity to convey “a more positive picture of our fantastic school.”
Hermundsson’s video, published in early April, has since amassed over a million views. In it he says he had tried to get permission to film at Lundsberg for more than a year. The invitation came at the same time as SVT’s documentary series Dokument inifrÃ¥n was denied access to the school.
Jonsson wrote in a follow-up newsletter in late April that the school leadership was satisfied with the visit: “Soon a million views. That is absolutely incredible.”
Former students interviewed by SVT were critical. One said the video felt staged: “I couldn’t watch it; it was staged.”
Hermundsson said in a written comment that he did not know about SVT’s investigation when he visited. “However, I had followed the news and knew about the serious incidents reported. Those parts we also addressed in my episode, but my curiosity was more about how incredibly different daily life is at Lundsberg compared to a regular Swedish school.” He added that he received no compensation from the school and that the school leadership told him the invitation came on the initiative of students.
In a comment to SVT, Jonsson described Hermundsson’s visit as successful and said the school leadership did not know at the time that SVT would actually produce a program about Lundsberg.