Elina Lindgren

Elina's research focuses on political communication and public opinion, with a particular emphasis on communication effects – that is, how different communication strategies and information sources influence the ways in which people perceive and interpret information. Her research has examined, among other things, how voters respond to campaign rhetoric, how media framing of political issues shapes audiences' interpretations and perceptions, and how individual characteristics may moderate the effects of both political rhetoric and media framing. Her research primarily draws on quantitative methods.

Elina is currently involved in two research projects that both examine communication effects in digital environments, but from different perspectives. One project focuses on how conspiracy theories are communicated and how exposure to conspiracy-related content may influence people's perceptions. The other examines the use of AI-powered generative search engines and how this may affect people's use of and trust in traditional news media as sources of information, as well as their knowledge of politics and society.

Elina teaches political science and social science research methods. She is involved in developing a master’s program focused on psychological defense and disinformation. She also regularily supervises and examines student theses at undergraduate and advanced levels.

Elina received her PhD in political science from the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg in 2018. Before starting her position at Karlstad University, she worked as an assistant survey manager at the SOM Institute and as a researcher at the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, both at the University of Gothenburg.

Lindgren, E., Theorin, N., & Strömbäck, J. (2026). Closing the perception gap: How corrective information can reduce misperceptions of the link between immigrant background and crime. Mass Communication and Society, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2026.2683620

Boholm, M., Lindgren, E., Breitholtz, E., Cooper, R., Rettenegger, G., Rönnerstrand, B., & Sayeed, A. (2026). Tracking dogwhistles online and through time using distributional semantics. Journal of Computational Social Science, 9(2), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-026-00464-5 

Lindgren, E., Glogger, I., Theorin, N., Boomgaarden, H. G., Lindholm, T., & Strömbäck, J. (2025). Politically knowledgeable or directional (mis)believers? How to identify those who are correct about political facts for the “wrong” reasons. Communication Research, 0(0), 00936502251392780. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251392780 

Lindgren, E. (2025). Beyond cultural narratives: A data-driven analysis of how citizens define successful integration. Political Studies Review, 23(3), 739-763. https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299241297801

Lindgren, E., Rönnerstrand, B., Rettenegger, G., Breitholtz, E., Cooper, R., Sayeed, A., (2024). Coded appeals and political gains: Exploring the impact of racial dogwhistles on political support. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990241280373

Lindgren, E., Lindholm, T., Vliegenthart, R., Boomgaarden, H. G., Damstra, A., Strömbäck, J., & Tsfati, Y. (2024). Trusting the facts: The role of framing, news media as a (trusted) source, and opinion resonance for perceived truth in statistical statements. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 101(4), 981-1004. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990221117117