‘Russia hacked the birds’: Social media mocks Swedish paranoia after birds take down fighter jet
News that a Swedish fighter jet crashed after colliding with a flock of birds has left some on social media joking about Russian involvement – Sweden’s go-to scapegoat for all unforeseen phenomena, real or imagined.
A JAS Gripen fighter plane crashed on Tuesday near the town of Ronneby in southern Sweden, with the pilot reportedly ejecting safely from his aircraft.
Sweden is known for pointing the finger at Moscow whenever something goes awry. From mysterious “submarine” sightings off its coasts to migrant rioters burning cars, Stockholm somehow knows that Russia is always to blame. Responding to Tuesday’s unfortunate “bird strike,” social media users jokingly seized on this peculiar brand of Swedish logic.
“Birds down Swedish fighter jet. Russian ornithologists suspected,” one cheeky Facebook user commented. “Must have been russian birds. Those pesky Russians!” wrote another.
Other sarcastic“Russia!” comments include: “Probably Putin’s pet bird” and “Russia hacked the birds. Russian agresion (sp). The birds must be sanctioned.”
However, one Facebook user offered up a far less sinister explanation for the accident: “Don’t text & fly.”
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