The conference organized on April 9 & 10, 2026, at Charles University, Prague was titled Engaging with Conspiracy Theories, Fostering Democracy: Dynamics, Drivers, And Defences. The title and content, as stipulated in the call for papers, was decided by the Scientific Committee of the conference, composed of members of TaCT-FoRSED, including all members of WP4. This theme reflects the project focus on democracy and defence mechanisms against conspiracy theories. While this topic featured significantly in the final conference program, we are happy to report that the topical breadth of conference reached much further, as expressed in what follows in the remainder of this report section. This was especially important given that an important aim of the conference was also to set the stage for the creation of a learned society for the study of conspiracy theories, and the learned society focus should not be confined to that of the project, but rather be thematically as ample as possible to attract and mobilize specialists in conspiracy theory to commit to joining it.

Overall, the conference featured 11 panels:

1. Panel 1 – Conspiracist Ideologies and Resilience of Democracies
2. Panel 2 – Conspiracy Theories, Police and Crime
3. Panel 3 – Countering Conspiracy Theories in Democracies
4. Panel 4 – Intervention, Legitimacy and Conspireligion
5. Panel 5 – Definition and Classification of Conspiracy Theories
6. Panel 6 – Conspiracy Theories and Global Issues
7. Panel 7 – Comparative Approaches to Conspiracy Theories
8. Panel 8 – National and Regional Case Studies 1
9. Panel 9 – Elements of Pseudo-Science and Conspiracy Theories Within Identity Politics and Theories
10. Panel 10 – National and Regional Case Studies 2
11. Panel 11 – Specific Topics Regarding Conspiracy Theories

An important feature of the conference was the presentation of TaCT-FoRSED at the opening table, which contributed greatly to the awareness about the project among the community of conspiracy theory scholars at large. Yet another highlight was the presence of four keynote speakers, chose by the scientific committee among the most inspiring and acknowledged scholars working on conspiracy theory.

The four keynote lectures were:

1. Conspiracy Theory and Democracy, by Michael Butter, Universität Tübingen, Germany
2. Consequences of Conspiracy Theories, by Karen Douglas, University of Kent, United Kingdom
3. Too bad: On the affinity between dystopianism and conspiracism, by Eva Hausteiner, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
4. ‘To see is to believe’: the visual communication of conspiracy ideation, by Andreas Önnefors, Linnaeus University, Sweden

Besides the keynotes, the conference panels, and the roundtable for the establishing of the learned society, the conference also featured a Guided Tour: Conspiracy Theories and Prague, which focused on presenting some of the most iconic and influential conspiracy theories in this city through a walking session led by Petr Janeček. This activity was attended by many of the conference attendees, and offered a different, more ludic and interactive, approach to the study of conspiracy theories, in contrast to the more normative series of invited lectures and conference panels.