Katja Valaskivi

Katja Valaskivi is a Professor in Religious Studies and Media Research at the University of Helsinki, affiliated with the Faculty of Theology and the Study of Religions department. She leads the Helsinki Research Hub on Religion, Media and Social Change (Heremes) and serves as a research director in the Helsinki Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities (HSSH) datafication program. Her work focuses on the mediatization and datafication of religion, conspiracy theories, and hybrid media events like terrorist attacks.

Valaskivi currently leads the Mediatized Religious Populism (Merelpo) consortium funded by the Finnish Research Council and contributes to understanding epistemic contestations in media environments. She is an Advisory Board member of the International Society of Media, Religion and Culture (ISMRC) and holds an adjunct professorship in Media Studies at Tampere University. Her research employs multi-method approaches to analyze digital phenomena, including algorithmic biases in image recognition systems and the role of social media in extremist networks.

• Recent Projects: Merelpo (2021–2025), ENNCODE (2020–2022), SAPO (2019–2021).
• Key Collaborations: With scholars like J. Sumiala, N. Pyrhönen, and institutions such as Nihon University and the University of Zurich.
• Activities: Invited talks at international conferences on conspiracy theories, algorithmic representations of religion, and hybrid media events.