Conspiracy 58 (Swedish: Konspiration 58 or KSP58) is a Swedish mockumentary from 2002, by producers from the national public service, that claims that the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden didn't really take place, but was staged as a television and radio event between American and Swedish Television, the CIA and FIFA as part of a Cold War strategy. It is claimed that Sweden did not have the economic or technical resources to promote such an event. The main reason for the Americans, according to the theory, was to know if propaganda in television had any influence to viewers and if such methods can be used as political weapons.
At the end of the film it is revealed that it is a hoax, despite this many people still believed in it, as it was not understood properly in the film. It took several days until the newspapers actually announced it was all made up by the producers. The film was reported by Swedish viewers to the Swedish Broadcasting Commission numerous of times, but it was declared that the broadcaster did not violate the ethic rules. [1]
The aim of the movie, according to the director Johan Löfstedt, was to illustrate how historical denial (in particular Holocaust denial) works and to highlight the importance of source criticism when getting information from for example the media.[2]
Majority of the characters in the film are real celebrities and were acting themselves in the play.
Contents |
| Name | Cast |
|---|---|
| Bror Jacques de Wærn | Author, historian, Chairman of KSP58 |
| Olof Arnell | Director of KSP58 |
| Ingrid Lorentzen | Tresurer of the KSP58 Foundation |
| Thomas Böhm | Psychologist |
| Caj Ernelli | Bookseller |
| Bengt Grive | Sports-writer in the 1950's |
| Ulf Drakenberg | Sports-journalist in the 1950's |
| Bengt Ågren | Secretary of the FIFA Organization Commite 1958 |
| Per Carlsson | Chairman of the Vindicate the 1958 Movement |
| Lennart Johansson | UEFA-President 1990-2007 |
| Agne Simonsson | Player in Sweden national football team 1958 |
| Kurt Hamrin | Player in Sweden national football team 1958 |
| Sigvard Parling | Player in Sweden national football team 1958 |
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