The 2025/26 Monitor survey
The Fritt Ord Foundation and the Institute for Social Research (ISF) invite you to the launch of a report and a subsequent discussion on Monday, 8 June 2026, from 9.00 to 11.00 am, at Fritt Ord’s premises at Uranienborgveien 2 in Oslo.
Where do people draw the line when it comes to freedom of expression, and what do they believe to be the greatest threats to an informed debate at a time characterised by unrest, crises and international conflicts? Do they feel there is sufficient diversity of opinion and enough room for divergent viewpoints? And how do people assess access to truthful and relevant information in a media landscape featuring new formats, new voices and artificial intelligence?
Every five years, Fritt Ord and ISF survey public attitudes towards freedom of expression in Norway.
In 2020, when the previous monitor survey was conducted, researchers identified trends towards polarisation, as women and men, and voters on the right and left, were becoming more divided. What does that situation look like today?
How have years of AI, war and crisis changed the way in which we express ourselves? The previous monitor was published against the backdrop of the pandemic and a state of emergency, while we are now coloured by fear of war and heightened alertness.
The 2025/26 Monitor survey continues the time series instituted in 2013, while also asking new questions that have never been explored earlier.
PROGRAMME
Welcome: Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud, researcher at ISF and project manager for the new population survey
The researchers present the report
Audun Fladmoe: ‘What is it acceptable to talk about? Acceptance of offensive speech and the propensity to speak one’s mind over a 10-year period’
Dag Wollebæk: ‘American-style conditions? Political polarisation and perceptions of freedom of expression’
Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud: ‘New unrest and more adamant expressions of concern? The media, freedom of information and external threats’
A conversation featuring Xueqi Pang, journalist and photographer at the newspaper VG, where she covers stories at the intersection of youth culture, society and contemporary issues, and is particularly interested in multicultural identity, freedom of expression, pop culture and the trends that are shaping a new generation, Bente Kalsnes, a professor at the Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, whose research focuses on fake news, disinformation, AI, social media and digital communication; and Roar Hagen, a newspaper cartoonist and illustrator.
Moderator: Johannes Bergh, Research Director for politics, democracy and civil society and the head of the Norwegian National Election Studies at ISF.
