In times of upheaval, when people are concerned or unsure about the future, disinformation tends to spread easily. However, several grassroots movements have been working tirelessly to combat conspiracies and disinformation in the online sphere, using a variety of methods from memes and shitposting, to spamming comments with kindness. 

Ever since Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg first addressed the United Nations at the age of sixteen, calling for school strikes until there is political action against climate change, she has been the subject of misogynist, ageist and ableist hatred online. We wanted to analyse English-language posts about her to see if there was an increase in toxicity surrounding her latest media appearances. Coincidentally, Elon Musk officially took over Twitter in the middle of our observation period as well.

If you've been on TikTok, Twitter, Reddit, or Instagram in the past few months, you've probably seen people freaking out about the luxury fashion brand Balenciaga and their supposed involvement in claims of child sexualisation, even linking to a paedophile ring scandal…

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a ground and aerial invasion of Ukraine that has killed more than 20,000 people, as of the beginning of December 2022.  Almost immediately, Ukrainians started fleeing the country en masse. We wanted to understand what negative stereotypes and potentially xenophobic encounters and experiences a Ukrainian refugee might face in Western European countries.

The British Royal Family has often been the centre of tabloid drama, untrue rumours, and elaborate conspiracy theories. These conspiracy theories in particular have resurfaced, along with a flourish of new ones, in the wake of the Queen’s death. And with social media’s ability to spread a message all the way around the world in a matter of seconds, it is no wonder that some conspiracy theories and disinformation surrounding the death of the U.K’s longest reigning monarch, were able to go viral.

Dutch farmers are taking to the streets in protest due to government restrictions on livestock numbers and fertiliser use in order to cut nitrogen emissions. These protests have also been making headway into the online world. Within days the online conversations turned toxic, and after a week, we were facing a cesspool of conspiracy theories. So how did this happen? We identified five phases.

The Hungarian government has introduced a five-year jail penalty for spreading “false information” on the coronavirus response in 2020. But the government’s definition of “false information” isn’t what you’d expect. Instead, it includes nearly any sort of reportage or accountability on Hungary’s public health response. As a result, these could be the last days of independent media in Hungary.

Theories about a satanic paedophile network operating in the small town of Bodegraven had popped up on the internet as early as the summer of 2020, without the knowledge of most residents. It was only when hundreds of flowers arrived at the Vredehof cemetery that weekend in February 2021, that the extent to which this story had spread on the internet, and to which it had gripped the imagination of these believers, became clear.

Ever wondered what some of the craziest conspiracies on the internet are? These are some of the best ones we found in Europe. Of course, we can only scratch the surface, but these theories highlight the diversity of narratives across the continent and provide a glimpse into the minds of the people who spread them.

In 2019, the World Health Organisation listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten threats to global health, and now, researchers suggest that the anti-vaccine movement could undermine efforts to end this pandemic. As the holistic, wellness, ‘New Age’ yogis are taking the online world by storm, they have been cross-pollinating with the far-right QAnon supporters, and serving anti-vaxx conspiracy theories to the masses.

On day two of the Euro 2020 games, the world watched as Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch, during a game between Denmark, Eriksen’s home country, and Finland. After being successfully resuscitated, it was only a matter of minutes before the global anti-vax movement jumped on the Twitter propaganda train, to blame Eriksen’s collapse on the COVID-19 vaccine. However, there is just one problem with this theory: Eriksen hasn’t been vaccinated yet.