{"id":12292,"date":"2026-02-15T14:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T13:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/?p=12292"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T13:44:49","slug":"there-was-no-experiment-in-stockholm-in-which-homeless-people-were-given-10000-each","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/15\/there-was-no-experiment-in-stockholm-in-which-homeless-people-were-given-10000-each\/","title":{"rendered":"There Was No Experiment in Stockholm in Which Homeless People Were Given $10,000 Each"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Original article<\/a> (in Serbian) was published on 13\/2\/2026; Author: Teodora Koledin<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We recently noticed a suspicious post<\/a> on the social network X about an alleged Swedish experiment from 2019 in which homeless people in Stockholm were given $10,000 each. According to the author of the post, 72% of participants solved their homelessness problem and found a job thanks to the program. The same story was later reported by the portals Novosti<\/a>, Blic<\/a>, Kamatica<\/a>, and Biznis & finansije<\/a>. However, FakeNews Traga\u010d received a response from Annette Karlsson, Head of Communications at the Stockholm City Social Services Administration, stating that \u201cStockholm did not conduct such an experiment.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The description of the post also claimed that before the experiment began, \u201calmost 90% of people were convinced the money would be spent on destructive purposes,\u201d which allegedly did not happen.\u201cOne (homeless person, editor\u2019s note) used the money to buy tools and became a plumber, another completed programming courses and now works in the IT sector, and mostly according to their personal inclinations. The problem wasn\u2019t the willingness to work but closed doors\u2026,\u201d the user further specified in a comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our editorial team did not find relevant sources confirming that such a scientific study ever took place in the Swedish capital. The portals <\/a>that reported the story explicitly wrote that it had been conducted by the \u201ccity authorities\u201d of Stockholm, and that everything was done \u201cwithout any conditions, supervision, or rules.\u201d This was directly denied to Traga\u010d by the Stockholm City Social Services Administration. Moreover, Annette Karlsson added in her response that she believes it would even be \u201cillegal\u201d to conduct such an experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the homeless experiment in Vancouver<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After several other (skeptical) users asked for a link to the study under the disputed X post, its author admitted that it was not an official program in Stockholm, adding that \u201cthere is a real experiment with CHAS transfers [probably cash transfers, editor\u2019s note], but it was part of scientific or NGO pilot projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the author did not specify which NGOs or scientists conducted such a project and instead referred to a similar experiment <\/a>carried out in Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although that experiment is not fictional, the interpretation of its results and methodology has been significantly oversimplified. The researchers involved in it screened 732 homeless individuals from 22 shelters who met the following criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n