Oscar Björkenfeldt
About Oscar Björkenfeldt
Oscar Björkenfeldt is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Sociology/Criminology. He earned his PhD in 2024 at the Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University, with the dissertation Online Harassment Against Journalists: A Socio-Legal and Working-Life Study of the Challenges and Impacts in Swedish Journalism.
The dissertation examines how press freedom is challenged by a growing and systematic distrust of traditional journalism, expressed through harassment, threats, and hate directed at journalists. The study shows that both the legal system and news organizations struggle to address these attacks, which are often framed as free speech, and that efforts tend to focus too heavily on criminal law rather than on working environment measures. It argues that online harassment should be understood as a work environment issue situated at the intersection of digitalization, working life, and democratic values.
Current Research
In his ongoing research, Oscar Björkenfeldt examines how the Swedish Police Authority anticipates, interprets, and gives meaning to camera surveillance and image analysis, as well as the potential integration of AI-based technologies such as facial recognition. Based on ethnographic fieldwork within the Police Authority’s unit for camera surveillance and analysis, the study explores how these technologies become both practically actionable and ethically contested in everyday professional practices.
This research is conducted within the project Camera Surveillance and Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Investigations.
Teaching
Oscar Björkenfeldt is the course coordinator for the introductory course in Criminology and teaches primarily within this area. He has also taught in Sociology, Social Psychology, and thesis supervision at various levels within the social sciences.