On 25 August 2026, the OPINION COST Network held its closing day at their final conference at VERN’ University in Zagreb. The conference and network brought together researchers and stakeholders from different European countries to discuss key outcomes from four years of work on public opinion and opinionated text in contemporary digital spaces.
As part of the conference panel “OPINION Matters: Practical Insights from OPINION Research,” Mariken van der Velden (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) presented the research “From Silence to Influence: How Populist Parties’ Communication Captured the Young Vote.” The research was conducted in collaboration with Michaela Maier, Olga Zagovora, Aidar Zinnatullin, Felipe Barreto-Storandt, and Talisa Schwall, examining how populist parties’ social media communication contributed to reaching and mobilizing younger voters.