FanVEX - Fanization of Violent Extremism on Social Media
Facts
- Contact person:
- Tina Askanius
- Financer:
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- Independent Research Fund Denmark
- Responsible at MaU:
- Tina Askanius
- External project members:
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- Line Nybro Petersen
- Jakob Demant
- Simone Driessen
- Marie Bojsen-Møller
- Time frame:
- 01 January 2027 - 01 January 2031
- Faculty/department:
- Research environment :
- Research subject:
About the project
Violent extremism and online fandom are increasingly converging on social media. Not only are violent perpetrators adapting fan practices to spread extremist ideologies, but perpetrators themselves have also become objects of online fandom, celebrated in so-called “saints cultures” in which former perpetrators of mass violence are revered and mythologised as saints and heroes. FanVEX examines this convergence of violent extremism and fan cultures and practices - a process we refer to as the fanization of extremist violence.
Two fields of research come together
The project brings together two sets of academic literature rarely in conversation: radicalisation and extremism research, and media fan studies, to understand what happens when fandom makes extremism memetic and viral - mixing ideology with popular culture, and reproducing cultural scripts that make certain actions feel attainable, or even attractive, to others. We want to understand how fandom drives online radicalisation and reshapes extremist motivations and actions in a digital landscape of playful participation and transnational online community.
International cases
Empirically, the projects will examine a range of international cases, spanning far-right terrorism and violence, attacks related to violent misogyny and male supremacy, and school attacks, including recent cases from the Scandinavian context.
Interdisciplinary research team
The interdisciplinary research team of senior and junior scholars is hosted at Nordic Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen, and led by Associate Professor in Media Studies Line Nybro Petersen. The project is funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark and will run from 2027 to 2031.