Group for Culture, Inequality and Democracy

It was expected that this year’s Pride parade in Oslo would see a record turnout. The night before the parade, a man opened fire at two nightclubs and a fast‑food stand in the capital of Norway. One of the nightclubs was London Pub, Oslo’s most well‑known venue for queer people. Two people were killed and more than 30 were injured in the attack. The timing and location of the attack immediately led to hypotheses of hate crime against queer people being the motive. In the weeks that followed, queer people appeared in Norwegian news coverage more frequently and in a different way than before.

Using the terror attack as a case and a mixed method approach combining quantitative and qualitative text analysis, this study seeks to answer the research question: What narratives about queer people were expressed through Norwegian news media’s coverage of the terror attack in Oslo June 25th 2022, and how were they expressed?

The sample consists of written texts from Aftenposten, Klassekampen, Nettavisen, and VG, published during the first two weeks after the attack. First, a quantitative analysis of all texts from this period is conducted. In the second part, selected texts from the same material are examined through a qualitative discourse analysis.

This master’s thesis examines how young citizens interpret and evaluate sustainability communication from commercial companies, using Tine as a case example. The overarching research question is: How do young citizens interpret Tine’s sustainability communication, and what role does critical media literacy play in this process?

The study is designed as a qualitative reception analysis based on semi-structured interviews with young adults. Drawing on reception theory and perspectives on critical media literacy, the thesis explores how participants understand the concept of sustainability, how they interpret specific communicative strategies, and how they negotiate questions of credibility, intention, and greenwashing. The project aims to contribute to research on sustainability communication by foregrounding audience perspectives and examining how commercial messages are critically processed in everyday contexts.

This master’s thesis examines how trans people in Norway navigate political engagement and social risk when speaking about the gender debate on social media. 

The study explores how platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook function as different arenas for political expression, and how trans people negotiate the possibilities and constraints of everyday political participation in light of platform logics, audiences, and debate climates. The thesis highlights the assessments behind choosing to post, respond, moderate, and/or limit engagement. It also investigates how experiences of resistance and support shape what feels meaningful to express, and how participation develops over time.

The thesis is based on qualitative interviews with trans people in Norway, and thematic analysis of the interviews. It contributes to research on freedom of expression and digital public spheres by examining how minority groups exercise freedom of expression on social media. By documenting strategies and experiences among trans people in Norway, the study offers insight into the social and technological conditions that shape participation in digital public debate.

This study examines how the YouTube channel Gutta evolved from a humor-driven entertainment channel into a political actor during the 2025 Norwegian election campaign. The project situates this development within a broader shift in the media landscape, where social media influencers increasingly gain visibility and legitimacy in public political debate.

This shift can be understood through three levels: distribution, visibility, and acceptance. Previously, social media often functioned as alternative distribution channels for political communication outside established news media. In the case of Gutta, however, their content circulated across platforms and was referenced and discussed by national media outlets such as TV2 and VG. As a result, their communication was not only widely seen but also treated as relevant political content.

Through rhetorical analysis, combined with public sphere theory and discourse theory, the study explores how humor, language, and digital formats were used to build engagement and credibility, and how this enabled the channel to enter the political public sphere during the 2025 election campaign.