NEOVEX

Followers of conspiracy theories and right-wing extremist actors use crises to fuel social polarization and weaken democratic societies and their institutions. The search for scapegoats through conspiracy theories and right-wing extremist ideologies makes politicians, media representatives, and people of Jewish and Muslim faith, among others, a target. 

The aim of the joint research project NEOVEX is to analyze the transnational manifestations of conspiracy theories and right-wing extremist ideologies over time and their violence-legitimizing functions by means of its interdisciplinary and integrating research approach. The project is also dedicated to the investigation of transnational entanglements and networks between representatives of both groups in crisis situations as well as the dissemination of their messages in digital information spaces. In a further step, the project will analyze how technology companies deal with conspiracy theory and right-wing extremist content.

The research project is led by the IFSH. The research network also includes the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society (IDZ), the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society in Berlin and the Bavarian School of Public Policy at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with a total amount of approximately 1.8 million EUR.

Duration: January 2022 – December 2024