Imke Henkel, PhD

Dr Imke Henkel is a lecturer in Journalism and Media at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, and an Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. Her research interests include the intersection of journalism and democracy – including a critical approach to mis- and disinformation studies, digital journalism, comparative research, and journalists’ role conceptions. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Journalism and Journalism Studies. In 2021, her book ‘Destructive Storytelling: Disinformation and the Eurosceptic Myth that Shaped Brexit’ was published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is also the joint Principal Investigator for the UK within the Worlds of Journalism Study, a comparative survey project spanning over 70 countries around the world. She is the co-editor of the report ‘UK Journalists in the 2020s: Who They Are, How They Work, and What They Think’, published in April 2025 by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.