Danish citizens turn to apps to boycott American goods in response to Greenland tensions
The makers of mobile apps designed to help shoppers identify and boycott American goods say they saw a surge of interest in Denmark and beyond after US President Donald Trump's recent threats regarding Greenland. The surge in downloads coincides with Trump's repeated announcements of his ambitions to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, for the United States, at times threatening force and tariffs.
The creator of the Made O'Meter app, Ian Rosenfeldt, said he saw about 30,000 downloads of the free app in just three days at the height of the trans-Atlantic diplomatic crisis in late January out of more than 100,000 since it was launched in March. The app uses artificial intelligence to identify and analyse several products at a time, then recommend similar European-made alternatives.
In mid-January, thousands of people took to the streets of Denmark chanting 'Greenland is not for sale' and carrying banners saying 'Hands off Greenland'. The creator of the app, Mr. Rosenfeldt, who lives in Copenhagen and works in digital marketing, decided to create the app a year ago after joining a Facebook group of like-minded Danes hoping to boycott US goods.
Another Danish app, called NonUSA, topped 100,000 downloads at the beginning of February. One of its creators, 21-year-old Jonas Pipper, said there were more than 25,000 downloads on January 21, when 526 product scans were performed in a minute at one point. Of the users, some 46,000 are in Denmark and around 10,000 in Germany.
However, the effectiveness of these boycotts is questioned. Professor Gravert, an associate professor of economics at the University of Copenhagen, said there were actually few US products on Danish grocery store shelves, 'around 1 to 3 per cent'. Nuts, wines, and confectionary are examples. But there is widespread use of American technology in Denmark, from Apple iPhones to Microsoft Office tools.
Despite the symbolic nature of the boycotts, the apps have sparked a debate about the impact of individual actions versus organized efforts. Professor Gravert, who specializes in behavioral economics, said such boycott campaigns were usually short-lived and real change often required an organized effort rather than individual consumers. The debate continues as to whether these apps will have a practical effect on the US economy or if they are simply a symbolic gesture.
