Strengthening democracy against malign information influence

From 26–27 August 2026, Professor Charlotte Wagnsson's research group the Information Influence Lab hosted a conference on malign information influence and the challenges it poses to democratic systems in the digital age.

A central part of the programme was the public session “The 2026 Election: Strengthening Democracy Against Malign Information Influence” held on the opening day of advanced voting and chaired by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Malena Britz.

Dr Aino Petterson, Linus Wahlberg and Professor Charlotte Wagnsson from the Swedish Defence University presented research on resilience and the project the Information Influence Lab.

Dr. Kostiantyn Yanchenko from the University of Jena discussed lessons from information manipulation surrounding the 2024 European Parliament campaign and their relevance for the Swedish election. Professor Bo Petersson from Malmö University contributed perspectives from Snabbtänkt, which brings together scholars analysing the Swedish election, while Dr. Ola Svenonius from the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) discussed approaches to monitoring the 2026 Swedish elections.

The conference was preceded on 25 August by an internal Social Media Analysis Workshop led by Professor Anatoliy Gruzd and Philip Mai from the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. The workshop introduced participants to computational approaches for analysing online discourse using the research platform Communalytic.

The conference was supported by the Hamrin Foundation and the Swedish Armed Forces' research programme.