"Mathilda Åkerlund will bring important expertise to our research at JMG," says Professor Jesper Strömbäck, welcoming his new colleague, who comes from Umeå University.
Mathilda Åkerlund began her education with a bachelor's degree in Media and Communication Studies but later switched to Sociology. She earned her PhD at Umeå University in 2022 with a dissertation on how far-right rhetoric is adopted and used by a broader audience on digital platforms, as well as how platform functionalities and moderation contribute to the spread of such far-right expressions.
After completing her PhD, Mathilda Åkerlund continued as a postdoctoral researcher at Umeå University in a project that examined foreign far-right groups' perceptions of Sweden.
"I enjoy working at the intersection of different research disciplines and methods; you could describe me as an ‘internet researcher.’ I work on sociological and media studies questions, using a combination of data-driven and qualitative methods," says Mathilda Åkerlund.
New Projects Ahead
At JMG, Mathilda Åkerlund will spend the next three years investigating how organized misogyny is expressed in Swedish online environments, with a focus on the growing incel movement. In her research project, Men Who Hate Women Online: A Study of the Internet as a New Arena for Mobilizing Misogyny, she will collaborate with Jesper Strömbäck to study how incels organize, their misogynistic ideologies, and how society perceives them. The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council.
"Since the incel movement is growing and becoming increasingly extreme, there’s a need for greater knowledge to protect women’s rights, safety, and freedoms—both online and offline," she explains.
Mathilda Åkerlund will also teach at the department and work on another research project about conspiracy thinking and digital media together with postdoctoral researcher Elina Lindgren and Jesper Strömbäck. In this project, Mathilda Åkerlund will focus on the characteristics of conspiratorial language and how digital media enable or counteract it.
"I’m really excited to dive into the research and teaching here at the department and to get to know all my new colleagues!" says Mathilda Åkerlund.
Text: Elin Andersson & Annie Rolén
