A religious community in Sweden is eligible to receive state funding if it is a stable and established religious organization, has sufficient membership, transparent governance, & activities that respect democratic values and fundamental rights. Since January 2025, a new law (2024:487) on support to faith communities has entered into force, with the aim of ensuring "that state support is only provided to faith communities whose activities align with the fundamental democratic values of society" (Lundgren 2023; Scala 2025). In order to evaluate this alignment, internal guidelines have been provided to case officers at the agency responsible for handling applications (the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF). This paper engages in a critical analysis of the guidelines used to assess what counts as democratic religion (Shakman Hurd 2015). They include specific instructions regarding "the collection of information": reviewing incoming tips from other government agencies and the public, conducting a Google search with particular focus on results appearing under the headings "News" and "All," as well as performing a ChatGPT search using a prescribed prompt. The governance of minority faith communities in Sweden takes place in a political landscape described as heavily polarized around questions of religion and migration (Demker 2025), & as an increasingly hostile environment for adherents of minority religions, where fear of "being labelled & even deported" has been observed (Ghanea 2024). The paper argues that assessments of what constitutes "democratic" religion risk relying on sources shaped by stereotypes and weak associations rather than clear evidence of anti-democratic activity (Ardin & Irving 2025). Certain forms of religious organization are rendered legible as democratic while others become suspect. In the process, the democratic values the policy claims to safeguard- such as transparency, legal certainty, & impartiality-are themselves undermined.