Klassekampen started out in early 1969 as a monthly periodical published by a group of Oslo-based Marxist-Leninists, with Pål Steigan as a key founder and Anders M. Andersen as the first editor.

[9] Klassekampen has received praise for its critical political and economic journalism,[10][11][12] but also accusations of promoting Russian propaganda,[13][14][15][16] transphobia, trans-exclusionary radical feminism,[17][18][19][20] and Holocaust revisionism,[21][22] which the paper's chief editor has denied.

[12][24] Klassekampen was initiated in 1968 by a group of young communists, members of SUF(m-l), the youth organization of the socialist Sosialistisk Folkeparti (SF).

Pål Steigan, Tron Øgrim and Sigmund Grønmo were key figures, The first issue was published on February 7, 1969, coinciding with the annual convention of the SF, at which a left-wing opposition broke with the party, as did SUF (m-l).

Finn Sjue, now as a journalist, dug into illegal or semi-illegal surveillance practices by the secret services towards organizations, politicians and activists on the left.

In 1983, journalist Kjell Gjerseth received the Narvesen Prize, at that time the highest ranked journalism award in Norway, for his reports from Afghanistan in the early years of the Soviet occupation.

[48] At the same time, the Norwegian Graphical Union decided to exclude all members at Duplotrykk, Klassekampen's print shop, on the grounds that they had accepted hours and pay grade outside of the tariff regulations.

[55] He (supported by the majority of the board) also pursued a strategy of a still broader ownership and had talks with Kristen Nygaard, that had led the No to EU movement and with the Socialist Left Party (SV) and their then weekly, Ny Tid.

A further setback came in 1991, when its election front Rød Valgallianse became an independent organization and many party members chose to quit AKP and concentrate on RV.

Nærstad argued that it would be possible to reach a circulation of 15,000 within few years, and that a capital increase of ten million NOK could be obtained provided AKP reduced its ownership.

[61] AKP considered these to be numbers without links to reality and instead suggested a discussion on what could be done to fulfill the paper's purpose and strengthen Klassekampen as a "revolutionary, radical, indignant on behalf of the poor, critical to the system and foresighted" newspaper.

In 1996, an internet forum named KK-forum was established by outsiders as an attempt on participatory democracy, but this was not welcomed by the paper and its staff, who mostly refused to participate in open polemics.

On election day, 15 September, Klassekampen's front page had a picture of Kristin Halvorsen of SV, and Folkvord lost his seat with a margin of 600 votes.

[69] Bjerke went to court to keep the job, but settled with one year paid leave before quitting, while the board admitted that their reasons were not necessarily objectively justified.

Furthermore, the paper realized that it was not possible to grow by committing only to a working class group of readers, whereupon the coverage of cultural and ideological topics was increased.

Braanen had been in Klassekampen before, as head of layout in the late 1980s, but had spent ten years in different positions in Dagens Næringsliv, a liberal business paper.

The return to Klassekampen for him meant a 50 percent reduction in salary, but he said it was a project he could stand for – on the condition that AKP would reduce its ownership and that the paper would develop further into an arena for the broad left.

In September 2006 Bokmagasinet (The Book Magazine) was launched as an enclosure every Saturday, inspired by Guardian Review and the Danish Weekendavisen, and aiming to become "Norway's most important literature paper".

[82] In 2006 Braanen received the Fritt Ord Award for his efforts – together with the staff – to develop Klassekampen into a broad and including daily "with exceptional contributions in the field of serious political journalism".

[92] In early 2022 Klassekampen was criticized by some of Norway's mainstream newspapers for an uncritical attitude towards Vladimir Putin's Russia and for having published pro-Russian conspiracy theories.

[14][15] The political editor of Dagbladet Geir Ramnefjell wrote that Klassekampen got its coverage of the events of the Russo-Ukrainian War that led to the 2022 full-scale invasion "most consistently wrong" and claimed – based on the publication of an essay by the Italian journalist Thomas Fazi – that the paper continued to publish "third rate conspiracy theories" of the "crackpot left" even after the invasion.

[94] An editorial from Norway's largest newspaper Aftenposten in November 2022 stated that "before the invasion, Klassekampen went to great lengths to dismiss concerns that there was any threat from Russia against Ukraine.

[18][19][95] Gender studies scholar Janne Bromseth [no] wrote that "Klassekampen has published regular columnists who have voiced transphobic views for a long time.

[18][19] Skurdal denied the accusations of transphobia and said that the editorial profile is to bring in different voices on this and other issues, giving the readers the opportunity to make up their own minds.

[23] Regular columnists Anne Kalvig (vice chair of Women's Declaration International)[96] and Kajsa Ekis Ekman (a Swedish freelance writer) have written several articles in the newspaper from "gender critical" viewpoints.

KK-forum played a major role in the ousting of then-editor Paul Bjerke in 1997, when the paper's owners, AKP, appointed Jon Michelet as the new editor.

[103][104] Ownership is shared by the Red Party (successor of the Workers' Communist Party), the national trade unions Fagforbundet, Fellesforbundet and Industri Energi, Mater (sole owner of the Pax publisher), Oktoberstiftelsen (minority owner of the Oktober publishing house), the support organization Klassekampens venner, as well as smaller shareholders.

Among the regular contributors are (per 2022): Jonas Bals, Ellen Engelstad, Tore Linné Eriksen, Elin Kittelsen, Mimir Kristjansson, Sandra Lillebø, Espen Stueland and Janneken Øverland.

It features several columns with regular external contributors (per 2022): "Feminist of course" (Wencke Mühleisen, Asta Beate Håland, Stephen Walton, Anne Bitsch), "Kringla heimsins" (Hans Jacob Orning, Gro Steinsland, Frans-Arne Stylegar, Christine Amadou, Thomas Reinertsen Berg, Gunnhild Røthe), "Homo Politicus" (Ottar Brox, Arne Johan Vetlesen, Bente Aasjord, Linn Herning, Magnus Marsdal), "A Nordic Dawn" (trade union activists from the Nordic countries), "Horizon" (Bhaskar Sunkara, Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Thomas Fazi, Francesca Borri, William Shoki, Grace Blakely, Vijay Prashad), "Heads and Tails" (Morten Jerven, Erik S. Reinert, Maria Walberg, Rune Skarstein, Chr.

Anton Smedshaug, Ole Kvadsheim), "In good faith" (Lars Gule, Rania Jalal Al-Nahi, Gyrid Gunnes, Eivor Andersen Oftestad, Mina Bai), "Naturally" (Stefan Sundström, Anna Blix, Kathrine Kinn, Frans-Jan Parmentier, Lene Liebe Delsett), "Signed" (Jonas Bals, Sandra Lillebø, Olav Elgvin, Olaug Nilssen, Minda Holm, Åsa Linderborg).