Cancelled: Extremism, Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation on Social Media

CEMES & CSGN Spring 2026 Lecture Series talk with Associate Professor Line Nybro Petersen, University of Copenhagen, and Professor Tina Askanius, Malmö University.

With the Epstein files out, were Qanon conspirators right all along? How do ideas start spreading that Danish public service media is infiltrated by paedophiles satanists – and what are the consequences when they take root? Is it a democratic problem that Swedish teenagers believe society is rigged against men and the world is run by 13 families? What violent ideas and actors are being platformed and normalised when parliamentary parties peddle ideas that the Swedish population is being “replaced”?

In recent years, conspiracy theories have moved from the fringes of the internet into everyday political conversation in the digital mainstream. What was once largely confined to anonymous message boards now circulates openly in Facebook groups, TikTok videos, YouTube channels, and news comment sections. The democratic implications of these developments, including in traditionally high-trust countries such as Sweden and Denmark, are profound.

In this CEMES seminar Line Nybro Petersen, associate professor in Media Studies from the University of Copenhagen and Tina Askanius, professor in Media and Communication Studies at Malmö University, share insights from their research and discuss the relationship between extremist online communities and conspiracy theories, the role of social media and big tech in their circulation and legacy media in amplifying their reach and harmful impact.

About the series

The Spring 2026 Lecture Series focus on the topic 'The European Far Right in a Transnational Perspective'. The series is organised by Centre for Modern European Studies (CEMES) and Centre for the Study of Global Nationalisms (CSGN).