Curd Knüpfer

Curd Knüpfer is an Associate Professor of Political Communication at the University of Southern Denmark and maintains teaching roles at the John F. Kennedy Institute of the Freie Universität Berlin. His primary affiliations include dual academic positions in political science with a focus on digital media ecosystems. Knüpfer’s research examines US media systems, right-wing alternative media, frame contestation, and transnational public sphere dynamics. He holds a PhD from Freie Universität Berlin (2015) and has published extensively on far-right digital networks, climate disinformation, and media-regime analysis.

His teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses on political communication, including 'Political Systems and Media Regimes,' 'Democracy, Disinformation, and Deception,' and 'Analyzing Right-Wing Media Content.' Research interests emphasize the interplay between digital media, political polarization, and transnational information flows. Knüpfer has conducted fieldwork on global anti-immigration movements and the normalization of far-right narratives on platforms like YouTube.

• Education: PhD in Political Science (Freie Universität Berlin, 2015), MA thesis on neoconservatism and US foreign policy (2010)
• Key Projects: Editor of APSA/ICA Political Communication Report; Weizenbaum Institute Working Papers on Antifa framing
• Media Contributions: Op-eds in The Washington Post, The Conversation, and Netzpolitik.org

Recent publications (2020–2024) analyze far-right digital networks’ role in climate denialism, transnational hyperlink ecosystems, and media engagement patterns among Republican lawmakers. His work bridges digital media studies with political theory, addressing contemporary challenges to democratic discourse.