• Banja Luka, University of Banja Luka
• Oriana Ivkovic Novokmet, GONG/Faktograf
• Miodrag Suvakovic, (FMK) Faculty of Media and Culture
• Harald Weilnbock, Cultures Interactive
• Hanne Wurzel, Federal Agency for Civic Education
• Uli Jager, Berghof Foundation
• Joe Collenette, ISD Global
• Urmo Soonvald, Delfi,
• Magdalena Biernat, Centrum Cyfrowe

Project achievements:

Context/Objective

The REDACT project analysed how digitalisation shapes the form, content and consequences of conspiracism. This is of key importance at a time when disinformation is considered a threat to democratic stability.

Rather than seeing digitalisation as a process that has universal outcomes, or conspiracy theories as constant, REDACT considered the specificities of online conspiracy theories and counter-disinformation organisations in the UK, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia.

Methodology

The project scraped 6 million posts from social media between 2019-2024. We used a mixture of digital methods and close reading strategies to analyse the data. Additionally, we focused on the political, cultural and economic contexts to explain how and why conspiracy theories spread in the online environment. Lastly, we conducted ethnographic interviews with counter-disinformation organisations across Europe to understand how they tackle conspiracy theories.

Findings

Our main key finding is that one size does not fit all. This has different ramifications:

• Regional histories and experiences with freedom of expression, the media, democratic and epistemic norms, state control, conflict, authoritarianism and propaganda all shape conspiracy theories, even if the basic narratives are sometimes imported from elsewhere.
• Conspiracy theories occupy differing positions on the spectrum between legitimacy and illegitimacy in each region. This means that in some locations, conspiracy theories can be espoused both by those in power and also by those who want to hold power to account.
• Models imported wholesale from the US for understanding conspiracy theories,

the platforms used to share them and the sector tasked with combatting

disinformation and conspiracy theories are of limited use.

• The counter-disinformation sector is highly variated across Europe depending on issues such as funding and political priorities. It is therefore not useful to think about this sector in Europe nor their strategies as homogenous.

Despite having to be attentive to regional differences, some of our findings apply across regions:

• Conspiracy theories should not be conflated with mis/disinformation.
• Conspiracy theories point to underlying conditions.
• Social media is only part of the story.
• Explicit online conspiracism migrates to unmoderated platforms.
• Grey zones (innuendo, dog whistling, implicit conspiracism) complicate intervention.
• Conspiracy theories hijack attention.
• It’s not all FIMI – homegrown conspiracism is more prevalent.

Importance/Impact

In relation to academic work on conspiracy theories, our project adds much. First, it emphasises the need for regional knowledge to understand the full meaning and resonance of conspiracy theories. Second, it emphasises the necessity of looking at the whole conspiracist ecosystem (both online and offline) when many studies look at one or the other. Third, in interviewing those working in the counter-disinformation sector across Europe, the project makes it clear that any examination of the information environment must take account of the experiences of both those who contest consensus reality and those tasked with upholding it.

But the impact of this project exceeds academia. In producing reports with recommendations and holding an online stakeholder webinar, it is shaping the public and policy discourse about conspiracy theories in positive ways.

Publications:

• Birchall C., Knight P., Has Conspiracy Theory Run out of Steam?, Theory Conspiracy, Routledge, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003375005-12
• Birchall C., Knight P., A Perfect Storm: Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in the United States, Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective, Routledge, 2023, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003330769-31/perfect-storm-clare-birchall-peter-knight
• Butter M., Knight P., Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective, Introduction, ed., Routledge, 2023, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003330769/covid-conspiracy-theories-global-perspective-michael-butter-peter-knight
• Butter M., Knight P., Bridging the great divide: Conspiracy theory research for the 21st century, Diogenes, Cambridge University Press, 2024, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/diogenes/article/abs/bridging-the-great-divide-conspiracy-theory-research-for-the-21st-century/11D78480B857154E224E1738DD3ECB90
• Butter M., Die psychologische Forschung aus Sicht der Kulturgeschichte, Die Psychologie der Verschwörungstheorien: Von dunklen Mächten sonderbar belogen, Hogrefe, 2023, https://www.hogrefe.com/de/shop/die-psychologie-der-verschwoerungstheorien-97657.html
• Butter M., Conspiracy Theories as Populist Counter-Narratives, Subversive Semantics in Political and Cultural Discourse, transcript Verlag, 2023, https://www.transcript-verlag.de/chunk_detail_seite.php?doi=10.14361%2F9783839461778-002
• Butter M., Covid Conspiracy Theories in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective, Routledge, 2023, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003330769-21/covid-conspiracy-theories-germany-austria-switzerland-michael-butter
• Butter M., Knight P., Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003330769/covid-conspiracy-theories-global-perspective-michael-butter-peter-knight
• Madisson M-L., Ventsel A., Lotman M., Varjatud märgid ja salaühingud. Vandenõuteooriate tähendusmaailm, Postimees, 2023, https://www.postimehekirjastus.ee/raamatud/aimekirjandus/andreas-ventsel-mari-liis-madisson-ja-mihhail-lotman-varjatud-margid-ja-salauhingud-1
• Butter M., Hatzikidi K., Jeitler C., et al. (eds) Populism and Conspiracy Theory: Case Studies and Theoretical Perspectives, London & New York: Routledge, 2024, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003474272
• Blanuša N., “Teorije zavjera”. In Hrvatski birači – 30 godina političkog ponašanja i mišljenja,  eds. K. Bovan, D. Širinić, V. Raos. Zagreb: Fakultet političkih znanosti, 2024. pp. 173-199. ISBN:978-953-8174-21-6. https://www.croris.hr/crosbi/publikacija/knjiga/831336 (“Conspiracy Theories” in Croatian Voters – 30 Years of Political Behaviour and Thinking)
• Blanuša N., Populism and Conspiracism in Croatia and Their Articulations among Citizens from Left to Right,  in: Butter M., Hatzikidi K., Jeitler C. (eds) Populism and Conspiracy Theory: Case Studies and Theoretical Perspectives, London & New York: Routledge, 2024. pp. 79-112, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003474272
• Jerbić V., “Naslijeđe postmodernizma u eri post-istine: nova inačica krize upravljivosti demokracija, in: Anali hrvatskog politološkog društva, 21(1), 2024: 221-245. https://doi.org/10.20901/an.21.07 (The Legacy of Postmodernism in the Era of Post-truth: A New Version of the Crisis of Governability of Democracies)
• Schilk F., Die Erzählgemeinschaft der Neuen Rechten, Zur politischen Soziologie konservativer Krisennarrative, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839474716
• Schilk F., Von der ‘Utopie’ zur ‘Wirklichkeit’. Biografische und gesellschaftliche Konversionsnarrative rechter Renegaten,  Kulturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift 8 (2), 142–173, https://doi.org/10.28937/9783787346561_7
• Schilk F., Milchkühe oder Besitzstandswahrer? (Review of Faury, Félicien: Des électeurs ordinaires. Enquête sur la normalisation de l’extrême droite, Paris: Edition Seuil, Soziopolis, 2024, https://www.soziopolis.de/milchkuehe-oder-besitzstandswahrer.html
• Schilk F., Widerstand als Marke (Review of Kiess, Johannes/Nattke, Michael 2024: Widerstand über alles. Wie die Freien Sachsen die extreme Rechte mobilisieren. Leipzig: edition überland.),  Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen 37 (3), 466-470, https://doi.org/10.1515/fjsb-2024-0042
• Birchall C., Butter M., Drazkiewicz E., Madisson M.-L., Blanuša N., Knight P., Milošević J., Turjacanin V., Schilk F., Precoma M., Pelling B., Menise T., Hardos P., Jerbic V., Report on Conspiracy Theories in the Online Environment and the Counter-Disinformation Ecosystem in Europe, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Blanuša N., Jerbic V., Milošević-Đorđević J., Turjačanin V., Report on Conspiracy Theories in the Online Environment and the Counter-Disinformation Ecosystem in the Balkan Triangle, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Blanuša N., Jerbic V., Milošević-Đorđević J., Turjačanin V., Izvještaj o teorijama zavjere u internetskom okruženju i ekosustavu suzbijanja dezinformacija u Balkanskom trokutu (BiH, Hrvatska i Srbija), 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Madisson M-L., Menise T., Report on Conspiracy Theories in the Online Environment and the Counter-Disinformation Ecosystem in Estonia and Latvia, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• M-L. Madisson, T. Menise, Aruanne veebikeskkondades levivate vandenõuteooriate ja desinformatsioonivastase tegevuse ökosüsteemi kohta Eestis ja Lätis, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• M-L. Madisson, T. Menise, Ziņojums par sazvērestības teorijām tiešsaistes vidē un dezinformācijas apkarošanas ekosistēmu Igaunijā un Latvijā, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Butter, M. Precoma, Report on Conspiracy Theories in the Online Environment and the Counter-Disinformation Ecosystem in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Butter, M. Precoma, Verschwörungstheorien online und Projekte Gegen Verschwörungstheorien in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Birchall, P. Knight, Report on Conspiracy Theories in the Online Environment and the Counter-Disinformation Ecosystem in the UK, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Birchall, M. Butter, M-L. Madisson, E. Drazkiewicz, P. Knight, N. Blanuša, F. Schilk, M. Precoma, P. Hardos, T. Menise, V. Jerbic, V. Turjacanin, J. Milošević, Conspiracy Theories in the European Digital Sphere, Routledge
• Precoma, The Discursive Constitution of Conspiracy Theories in German-Language Mediated Counterpublics, 2025
• M-L. Madisson, T. Menise, The Destruction of Russian Cultural Memory as Part of a Malicious Plot: The Mankurtization of the Baltics, Conspiratorial Memory, Routledge, 2025
• Jerbic, Digital Panopticon and the Attention Economy: Governing Truth in the Era of Informational Capitalism, Suveillance and Society, 2025, ISBN: 1477-7487
• Birchall, P. Knight, D. de Zeeuw, On Psyop Realism, Cultural Politics, vol. 21, Duke University Press, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1215/17432197-11720272
• Birchall, Haute Baroque Bling: Style, Taste and Distinction in the Study of Populist Conspiracism, Populism and Conspiracy Theories, Routledge, 2024, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003474272, ISBN: 9781003474272, Link:
• Birchall, P. Knight, Everything Is Connected: Conspiracy Theories and the Internet, MIT, 2025
• Birchall, M. Potolsky, The Aesthetics of Secrecy in Contemporary America, New American Studies Journal: A Forum, vol. 77, 2025, https://doi.org/10.18422/77-2548
• Birchall, Post-Truth Secrets, in: Democracy, Secrecy and Dissidence in Contemporary Fiction in English, Peter Lang, 2025
• Knight, Talking about Conspiracy Theories, Sense about Science, 2025, https://senseaboutscience.org/public-engagement-partnerships/talking-about-conspiracy-theories/
• Butter, Die Alarmierten: Was Verschwörungstheorien anrichten, Suhrkamp 2025, ISBN: 978-3-518-02992-3, https://www.suhrkamp.de/buch/michael-butter-die-alarmierten-t-9783518029923
• Butter, K. Hatzikidi, C. Jeitler, G. Loperfido, L. Turza, Populism and Conspiracy Theory: Case Studies and Theoretical Perspectives, Routledge, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003474272, ISBN: 9781032754215
• Butter, Introduction, in: Populism and Conspiracy Theory: Case Studies and Theoretical Perspectives, Routledge, 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003474272, ISBN: 9781032754215
• Butter, E. Barlösius, M. Carrier, A. Bogner, P. Diehl, M-E. Geis, M. Jungert, C. Reinhardt, T. Wilholt, M.l Zürn, Wissenschaftsreflexion: What is it? What is the need for it? Contemporary challenges for studies in science, Minerva, Springer, 2025, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-025-09601-2
• M-L. Madisson, A. Ventsel, Hirmudiskursuse ilmingud vandenõuteooria- ja “uhhuu”-vastastes meediatekstides, Mäetagused, vol. 92, 2025, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7592/MT2025.92.ventsel_madisson
• M-L. Madisson, T. Menise, Building Plots: The Transmedia Conspiracy Narratives of “1984” in Latvia and Estonia, in: Devised Truths and the Transmedial Construction of Worlds, Palgrave Macmillan, 2025, ISBN: 978-3-031-93082-9, https://link.springer.com/book/9783031930829#bibliographic-information
• M-L. Madisson, M. Maran, A. Ventsel, Through the Lens of Dread: Exploring the Meaning-Making of Fear in the Mediasphere, Tallinn University Press, ISBN: 978-9985-58-993-9, https://www.tlu.ee/pood/home/456-through-the-lens-of-dread-exploring-the-meaning-making-of-fear-in-the-mediasphere.html
• Drazkiewicz, The Truth Defenders and Their Fight against Disinformation in Poland, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2025
• Hardos, ‘Gender ideology’ Conspiracism, in: Culture wars and their Others: Transformations of exclusionary politics in Czechia and Slovakia in the 2010s, Karolinum, 2025
• Vedran, Naslijeđe postmodernizma u eri post-istine: nova inačica krize upravljivosti demokracija, Anali hrvatskog politološkog društva / Annals of the Croatian Political Science Association, vol. 21(1), 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.20901/an.21.07, ISBN: 1845-6707
• Blanuša, Troubles with the past, present and future in Croatia: Postmemory, Conspiratorial Memory, and a Sense of the Nation’s Demise as Predictors of Belief in a Super-conspiracy Theory of Global Tyranny, in: Conspiratorial Memory, Routledge, 2025
• Blanuša, A. Vranić, I. Hromatko, M. Tonković, K. Bovan, B. Vuksan-Ćusa, ADMO SURVEY: Trends in political perceptions, conspiracy theories, populism, and voting behavior, Adria Digital Media Observatory, 2025, https://admohub.eu/en/research/admo-survey-trends-in-political-perceptions-conspiracy-theories-populism-and-voting-behavior/
• Schilk, H-U. Probst, V. Müller-Husche, A. R. Ostern, K. Hüfner, Hybrider Rechtsextremismus. Hegemonie und Eskapismus in (extrem) rechten Netzwerken, Kulturen und Narrativen, Transcript, 2025
• Schilk, The Metapolitics of Crises: How the New Right Converts Discursive Alliances into Narrative Communities, International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Springer, 2025, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-025-09519-3
• Schilk, M. Quent, L. Roepert, V. Rösch, Viktoria, A. Schauer, Schwerpunkte und Herausforderungen der (soziologischen) Rechtsextremismusforschung: Einleitung zum Themenheft, Zeitschrift für Rechtsextremismusforschung (ZRex), Budrich Journals, vol. 5, no. 1, 2025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3224/zrex.v5i1.02
• Schilk, Medienporträt: Compact, Jahrbuch Extremismus & Demokratie, 2024, Vol.36, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748949503, ISBN: 978-3-7560-2298-4
• Schilk, Antisemitismus als Krisennarrativ. Beitrag zu einer Methodologie des strukturellen Antisemitismus, Warum Antisemitismus? Zur Politik der Judenfeindschaft im Spannungsfeld von Kollektiv und Subjekt, Velbrück, 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748940395-157, ISBN: 978-3-95832-350-6
• Drazkiewicz, Report on Conspiracy Theories in the Online Environment and the Counter-Disinformation Ecosystem in Poland, 2025, Link: https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Drazkiewicz, Teorie Spiskowe w Środowisku Internetowym i Ekosystem Przeciwdziałania Dezinformacji w Polsce, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Hardos, Report on Conspiracy Theories in the Online Environment and the Counter-Disinformation Ecosystem in Slovakia, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/
• Hardos, Správa o konšpiračných teóriách v online prostredí a ekosystéme boja proti dezinformáciám na Slovensku, 2025, https://redactproject.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/project-reports/