Led by researchers from Lund University, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Helsinki, the project investigates how influence emerges through interactions between influencers and their followers on social media platforms. Rather than viewing influencers as isolated opinion leaders, the project introduces the concept of participatory antagonism, a collective communication practice in which influencers and followers jointly shape content that challenge democratic values and social cohesion. The project has two main objectives:
- To improve understanding of the impact of antagonistic social media influencing on societal security and democratic trust, particularly among young people in vulnerable communities.
- To develop strategies that can mitigate harmful influencing on social media and promote democratic resilience, potentially by engaging influencers as allies in defending democratic values.
INFLU-NORD is organised into four work packages that focus on influencers, followers, forms of organising, and protagonism emerging in social media activity. The project combines digital methods with on-the-ground fieldwork, analysing social media content, conducting focus groups in vulnerable residential areas and observing online communities. While identifying threats, INFLU-NORD also explores the use of social media for pro-democracy purposes.
What makes INFLU-NORD novel is its change of perspective, shifting the view from influence as an individual, top-down act to influencing as a collective, communicative process. This approach highlights how everyday social media interactions contribute to broader systems of influencing that threaten democracy. At the same time, the project explores how influencing practices could encourage democratic participation.
Adopting a communication-centred view of organisations, INFLU-NORD provides a novel perspective on social media influencing as a means of collective political action beyond traditional institutions. Ultimately, the project aims to generate new theoretical insights, inform policy and develop strategies to counter antagonistic online influencing, while unlocking the democratic potential of digital participation in an era of hybrid warfare.
