The 2026 election: Strengthening democracy against malign information influence

Welcome to an open seminar on how democracy can be strengthened to resist malign information influence.

As Sweden approaches the 2026 general election, this open session examines how malign information influence may affect elections and democratic resilience. The speakers will discuss election monitoring against information manipulation, key risks in the electoral environment, and how inoculation experiments can help strengthen public resilience.

Students, staff and practitioners are warmly invited.

The seminar is held in English and is supported by the Hamrin Foundation and the Swedish Armed Forces’ research program.

Speakers

Aino Petersson, Linus Wahlberg and Charlotte Wagnsson (Swedish Defence University): Resilience and the project “Påverkanslabbet/The Information Influence Lab”

Bo Petersson (Malmö University), participant in “Snabbtänkt,” a project bringing together scholars analysing the Swedish election.

Kostiantyn Yavchenko, Information Manipulation Before the Swedish Election: Lessons Learnt from the 2024 EP Campaign

Ola Svenonius, Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI): "A Shot in the Dark? Monitoring the Swedish elections 2026"