

Dr Beatriz Buarque
LSE | University of Hertfordshire
AI | Security | Truth
Digital Capitalism | Global Far Right | Conspiracy Theories
Critical theory | Lacanian Psychoanalysis | Inclusive Education
.jpg)
On the spotlight
Watch this video summarising key insights from my research on AI and the far-right riots in the UK:
About me
My name is Beatriz Lopes Buarque
I was raised in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and my love for Politics started in my childhood. When I was 6 years old, I used to ask people for whom they would vote in the upcoming elections and, trust me,I used to question their choices. Curiosity and a strong sense of social justice have, firstly, influenced me to pursue a career in Journalism. Ten years later, they brought me back to academia, where I now aim to explore the ways in which digital capitalism intersects with issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and truth.
In Brazil, we usually say that Brazilians are essentially mixed race. Each Brazilian is the product of centuries of ethnic and racial encounters. Brazilians are also well-known for their resilience. No matter how hard life can be, they don't lose hope. The diversity and resilience that constitute the hallmark of Brazilian culture have decisively influenced my research expertise, my teaching style, and my ability to move between academia and industry.
Beatriz by Beatriz? Some acceptable definitions would be: I am an expert on the far-right politics of (conspiratorial) truth. I am a lecturer committed to inclusive and creative teaching practices. I am a researcher and lecturer who has made efforts to build bridges among academia, civil society organisations, international institutions, and media companies. I am a Latina scholar named Beatriz Lopes Buarque.

Highlights
November 2024 - Now
Visiting Lecturer in Politics and IR
(University of Hertfordshire)
As a Visiting Lecturer in Politics and IR, I convene the undergraduate module International Conflict and Peace and supervise MA dissertations in the areas of technology/AI, security, and democracy.
My passion for creative teaching methods and digital communication has driven me to design innovative asynchronous learning materials that incorporate social media aesthetics, making education more accessible and engaging for students from diverse backgrounds.
I also started using my Instagram account to expand on concepts explored in the classroom, share research findings, and provide further career support.
September 2023 - Now
LSE100 Fellow
November 2024 - Now
Course Convenor - EMFSS Dissertation Module
(LSE - University of London)
September 2019 - March 2024
Doctoral Researcher (Politics)
(University of Manchester)
January 2022 - June 2023
January 2022 - June 2022
GTA / Lecturer Conspiracy Theories and Democracy
(King's College London)
September 2022 - January 2023
GTA Questions about International Politics
(University of Manchester)
September 2021 - January 2022
Lecturer MA Digital Culture and Society
(King's College London)
October 2018 - January 2022
Founder and CEO
(Words Heal the World)




Research Projects
AI and the Far-Right Riots in the UK
Funded by the LSE Urgency Grant Scheme (£2,762.35), I investigated how AI contributed to recent far-right riots in the UK, particularly focusing on how X’s recommendation algorithms amplified racist conspiracy theories. As part of this project, I brought together six scholars from different institutions and disciplines for a workshop to explore how recommendation systems and generative AI tools fuelled the racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic violence seen across the UK between July and August 2024.
Read the evidence published by the UK Parliament:
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/142626/pdf/

Publications

Buarque, B. and Lewis, N. (2025) 'Algorithms at your service: Understanding how X’s systems of recommendation likely fuelled the far-right riots in the United Kingdom by amplifying visual representations of racist conspiracy theories', BJPIR.

Buarque, B. (2024) 'Staging a dialogue between Autonomist Marxists and Post-Marxists: The case of the alt-right multitude', Politics.

Buarque, B. (2022) 'Is it conspiracy or "truth"? Examining the legitimation of the 5G conspiracy theory during the Covid19 Pandemic', Social Epistemology.
Peer-reviewed articles

Allington, D., Buarque, B. L., and Barker Flores, D. (2021) ‘Antisemitic conspiracy fantasy in the age of digital media: Three ‘conspiracy theorists’ and their YouTube audiences’, Language and Literature.
Thesis
Lopes Buarque, B. (2024). The Power of the Alt-Right Multitude: How and Why Alt-Right Conspiracy Theories Have Been Legitimised in Online Spaces.

Buarque, B. (2025). "Marxists want to destroy the Traditional (Christian) Brazilian Family: Understanding the Legitimization of Cultural Marxism Conspiracy Theory in Brazil. In M. Gides, D. and Braune, J. (eds) On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives. London: Routledge.

Buarque, B. (2023). A quinta onda de terrorismo: radicalização além das fronteiras. In Veloso Leão, A. e Guiral Bassi, D. (eds) Para começar a entender o Estado Islâmico. Rio de Janeiro: UFRJ.

Book
chapters
Buarque, B. and Zavershinskaia, P. (2022). The Far-Right Politics of ‘Truth’: an exploratory analysis of the ‘truths’ produced by AfD Kompakt and Patriotic Alternative. In Alfonso Bruno, V. (ed) Populism and Far-Right: trends in Europe. Milano: Polidemos.

Buarque, B. (2018). Counter Extremism Project: a informação a serviço da paz. In Victor, C., Goktepe, M., Chiachiri, R., Elemen, Y. (eds.) Posições diante do terrorismo: religiões-intelectuais-mídias. São Paulo: Labrador.


Buarque, B. and Costa B. Garcia, G. (2024). Algorithms, violence, and youth in Brazil: towards an educational model for peace and human rights. Think Twice Brasil.

Buarque, B. and Cretton, M. (2021). Hate Map of Brazil 2019. Words Heal the World.
Reports

Buarque, B. and Cretton, M. (2019). Hate Map of Brazil 2018. Words Heal the World.

Blogs
‘Why Not Bring Weapons to School?’: How TikTok’s Algorithms Contribute to a Culture of Violence in Brazilian Schools.

Is it true? Is it fake news? Is it a conspiracy theory? A look inside the Ukrainian information war.
How Brazil's far-right 'active' knowledge industry supports Jair Bolsonaro.
An anti-Semitic wave may hit the world in the aftermath of the pandemic.


Events / Other activities
Consultancy
2020 - Facebook Policy Initiative: providing feedback
on Facebook's policy against misinformation
2019 - Facebook Policy Initiative: providing feedback
on Facebook's policy against hate speech
Paid Talks
27/07/2021 - The Future of Online debate: event organised
by Facebook and the cultural strategy agency Flamingo
Workshops
06/11/2025 - Reclaiming Democracy from AI
manipulation and algorithmic bias.
Forward College (Paris).
Reviewer
Reviewed articles for: BJPIR, Millenium,
Ethnic and Racial Studies
Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review
Awards
I have been awarded Fellow of Advance HE in June/2021, confirming my commitment to excellence in teaching and learning while incorporating my research within academic practices
LUXEMBOURG PEACE PRIZE
(Luxembourg)
The Luxembourg Peace Prize, an initiative from the Schengen Peace Foundation, recognized the efforts made by the NGO founded by me, Words Heal the World, to promote peace in 2020

ACADEMIC: UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
(United Kingdom)
I received ££116,627 from the Politics Department of the University of Manchester in 2019 to investigate the legitimisation of alt-right conspiracy theories in online spaces

TRANSCENDENCE AWARD
Michigan State University (USA)
I was awarded the Transcendence Award on behalf of Words Heal the World in 2019 for our efforts to empower young people to challenge hate speech in 2019
ACADEMIC:
FCDO CHEVENING
(United Kingdom)
I received £27,910 from the prestigious scholarship programme FCDO Chevening to complete my Masters in the UK in 2017
Fellowship of Advance HIgher Education (FHEA)
News
Interviews
2025
The Independent- 'Fake AI images stoking anti-immigration protests outside hotels'
The Times - 'AI images fuelling anti-immigration rhetoric'
2024
Logically Facts - 'Welcome to Londonistan': the Great Replacement theory gone visual ahead of the U.K. election
2023
Porvir Institute - School free of hate (Escola Livre de Ódio)
2022
TECH Against Terrorism - Episode 5: Tracking violent far-right behaviour online:
https://podcast.techagainstterrorism.org/1684819/10252501
Yeah Nah Pasaran! - Beatriz Buarque on the alt-right and truth industries
https://www.3cr.org.au/yeahnahpasaran/episode/beatriz-buarque-truth-industries
2021
2020
Jornal O Globo
Oxford International Relations Society Podcast: “The fight against hate speech proliferation during the Covid-19 pandemic” with Beatriz Buarque
https://soundcloud.com/user-951209983-279640904/tt20-episode
2019
ABC News Australia
Click on Detroit

