
Leoni Heyn
PhD Candidate and Researcher, Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University, Germany; Department for Research on Terrorism and Radicalization
2025
Leoni Heyn is a PhD Candidate and Researcher at both the Institute for Security Policy (ISPK) and the Department of Political Science at Kiel University. At the ISPK, she works in the Department for Research on Terrorism and Radicalization with a specific focus on the impact of social media and disinformation on radicalization. In her dissertation, she explores the formation and interconnectedness of German anti-government extremist networks (namely Reichsbürger, Querdenken and QAnon) across different social media platforms.
She is also a member of the Working Group of Terrorism and Domestic Security of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, Women in International Security (WIIS) and the European Expert Network on Terrorism Issues (EENeT).

To me, Eradicate Hate was the most important gathering of 2021 for those of us who work on issues related to domestic extremism and organized hate. The Summit uniquely combined a variety of perspectives, including experts, civil society representatives, politicians and policymakers, and the families and loved ones of victims. Eradicate Hate has the important mission of standing against the rising tide of hate and extremism in our society, and it’s an honor to be able to support this mission.

