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Conspiracy theories are not just innocent stories on the fringes of society – they have the power to polarize, radicalize and incite political extremism. In the lecture, we will focus on the dynamics of radicalization, by what mechanisms people are drawn into the world of conspiracy theories and extremism, why conspiracy theories are such a powerful tool of extremists and authoritarians, and how they contribute to the spread of violence and hatred. We will discuss specific examples leading to real-life acts, including terrorist attacks. Petra Mlejnková works at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. In his research, he has been profiled for a long time in two areas that are closely related to each other. The first is right-wing extremism in Europe, the issue of radicalization and countermeasures. The second area is information warfare, disinformation and propaganda. She is a member of the international expert networks Radicalization Awareness Network and European Expert Network on Terrorism Issues. As a teacher, she led students in several projects aimed at promoting media literacy. Among other things, she is the co-author of the popularization book "The best book about fake news, disinformation and manipulation!!!