Sal Hagen

Sal Hagen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) at the University of Amsterdam, working within the Natural Language Processing & Digital Humanities group. His research focuses on the intersection of computational methods and cultural analysis, particularly examining online communities, political discourse, and meme culture.

His educational background includes a Research Master's in Media Studies from the University of Amsterdam, for which he received the prestigious 2018 Internet Thesis Prize in the Internet & Social Sciences or Humanities category for his work "Here I Am, Praying to an Egyptian Frog: Exploring Political Fluidity on 4chan/pol/". He also won the Audience Award for his presentation at the ceremony.

Hagen's research interests center on understanding the dynamics of online communities, with particular expertise in 4chan and related platforms. His work combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyze political discourse, far-right movements, and the evolution of memes across digital spaces. He examines how anonymity, platform architecture, and cultural context shape online interactions and political expression.

His publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on tracing political movements through digital footprints, with particular attention to the interplay between platform-specific cultures and broader political trends. Hagen's work often bridges computational social science with cultural studies, creating methodologies that capture both the quantitative patterns and qualitative meanings of online discourse.

Scientific Awards:

• 2018 Internet Thesis Prize (Internet & Social Sciences or Humanities category)
• Audience Award for presentation at Internet Thesis Prize ceremony

Hagen has secured significant research funding, including an NWO PhD grant for humanities research running from 2019-2024. He has been involved in multiple research projects including the CAT4SMR project (2024), OILab (2017-present), and the ERC-funded ODYCCEUS project (2018-2019).

As part of OILab (Online Intelligence Lab), Hagen contributes to research on online political subcultures, while his work on the CAT4SMR project focuses on stabilizing and developing tools for social media data collection and analysis. He is also the developer of the 4CAT Capture and Analysis Toolkit, which provides transparent and traceable methods for social media research.