USA's miss - can't find Sweden

USA

USA's miss – Switzerland became Sweden

Knut Sahlin Ekberg

Updated 08.46 | Published 08.38

The post from the US State Department. Photo: Screenshot From X

In a post on X, the US State Department made a clear mistake.

Switzerland had been mixed up with Sweden.

Before US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's state visit to France, the US State Department released a promotional film on X.

But the American authority did not notice a clear mistake. In the video where a map of Europe is visible, Switzerland had become Sweden, reports German Bild. 

"Anthony Blinken is in Paris today to meet Emmanuel Macron and other leaders. Our continued coordination is important to tackle global problems," the post reads.

The attached clip in the post shows a map of Europe, where it says Sweden in the middle instead of Switzerland.

The error was pointed out in the comment field. It read, among other things: "I didn't know you could get to Sweden via Italy".

However, the post was quickly removed without a comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

50 percent are wrong

But the mistake is common in the US. In a survey by Visit Sweden, it appears that 50 percent of respondents in the US do not know the difference between Switzerland and Sweden, reports Forbes.

In June of last year, American President Joe Biden made the same mistake when he spoke to the press about Sweden and Finland's impending membership in NATO.

- He suggested that we call the leader of Switzerland ... oh my god. I am quite keen on expanding NATO ... I meant Sweden, of course, he said then.

It also happened at Spotify's listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018. Then a Swiss flag was raised next to two American ones.