‘Wanna moose?’ Epic war of words between Sweden and Denmark official Twitter accounts
Neighbors and age-old rivals, Sweden and Denmark, entered into a full-scale Twitter war, touching most – if not all – of the nerves which have accumulated over the past 400 years.
Denmark.dk is run by the Danish Foreign Ministry, while Sweden.se is the Swedish Institute’s online territory. The two usually post and re-post various pieces of promotional content, but Thursday apparently became the day when chthonian forces broke out.
Dear @denmarkdotdk LEGO? Really?! It's because we have #FREEDOMpic.twitter.com/EHPfQjRHFG
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
It all began with this seemingly harmless post in which the Swedes joked about their one inexplicable hatred – wall-to-wall carpeting. It appears that such a fashion of interior decoration did not sit well with the nation in which many view it as unsanitary and just poor taste.
Next time you meet a Swede, suggest they install wall-to-wall carpeting at home and see what happens. pic.twitter.com/RjzM1blfrA
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
As apparently do the Danes, who reposted the tweet with a caption that read that disgust for wall-to-wall carpets is “just one of many things Danes and Swedes have in common.”
But the Swedes were in a mood for a “chat”.
. @denmarkdotdk Another thing we don't have in common is that our lakes are the size of your country.
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
Everything snowballed from there, with the exchange getting more and more heated as it went from jokes about the size and beauty of the two states...
.@swedense well of course, we're almost completely surrounded by the sea ..which is why the little mermaid is Danish pic.twitter.com/3iIKbdbw2e
— Denmark.dk (@denmarkdotdk) July 7, 2016
...to Sweden's pricey alcohol, the traps and pitfalls of the Danish language, from moose...
.@swedense the feeling is mutual, as we are happy to shelter your fleeing mooses https://t.co/onc8dSlH7Cpic.twitter.com/DYq00sWwnH
— Denmark.dk (@denmarkdotdk) July 7, 2016
.@denmarkdotdk We're happy to give you 5 moose seeing as you didn't have any for 5000 years. Is that the reason your fertility is so low?
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
...to sperm banks and national flags...
.@swedense please, you started when you copied our flag
— Denmark.dk (@denmarkdotdk) July 7, 2016
Dear @denmarkdotdk of course, we know beauty we when see it. Except admit that we choose way nicer colors. pic.twitter.com/OterkG7F1v
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
...and even world peace and cooperation with the UN.
Dear @denmarkdotdk when it comes to aid: pic.twitter.com/eM82TBkSvM
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
The vast social media community reacted cautiously, with many bluntly asking what the cause of the fallout had been, if any. Some followers even expressed concerns that Sweden and Denmark were back on track to wars they fought some 400 years ago.
@swedense@denmarkdotdk@denmarkdotdk@swedense both of you should stop. I announce twitter ceasefire, deal?
— عبدالهادي (@Abdalhadihadi) July 7, 2016
@swedense@denmarkdotdk I am sobbing you're both beautiful, please stop fighting look how close you are :( pic.twitter.com/GeH7dg4mmf
— Le Petit Chat Noir (@toxictardis) July 8, 2016
@swedense@denmarkdotdk is this sort of debate common between Scandinavians?
— Saud Al Tamamy (@Saud_AlTamamy) July 7, 2016
And the puzzle was soon solved by the Swedes.
@Saud_AlTamamy@denmarkdotdk It's all friendly rivalry :)
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
“The Danes quoted us this morning, we replied to that and then we mutually kept the theme going. We are friends and know that our target audience is entertained by this content,” Ferencz Thuroczy, social media editor for the Swedish Institute, that navigates the Swedish account, told The Local.
Oh well, intrigued no more. Still, it was worth it, was it not?
Dear @denmarkdotdk how "high" is your highest peak? So cute you don't even have enough for a top 10 list. pic.twitter.com/uhGfzKQe8h
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016
Dear @denmarkdotdk keep your beaches while we go to one of our 267,570 islands. Welcome anytime! pic.twitter.com/mLZiMEgEvy
— Sweden.se (@swedense) July 7, 2016