Mr Nursi Er

Research

My research interests focus on disinformation studies, fact-checking, and audience perceptions. I am particularly interested in how political communication, ideology, and media consumption patterns shape public attitudes toward fact-checking and trust in information. More broadly, my work engages with audience studies, media engagement, and the democratic implications of disinformation, using mixed-methods approaches to examine the intersections between media, politics, and public opinion.

Thesis

Effects of Political Ideology and News Consumption on the Public's Perception of Fact-Checking.

Over the past decade, fact-checking has attracted growing scholarly attention, yet relatively little research has examined the factors that shape public perceptions of this practice. My doctoral project addresses this gap by investigating how political ideology and news media consumption influence attitudes toward fact-checking in the United Kingdom.

Through a mixed-methods design, the study explores both levels of public awareness and the ways in which citizens understand, evaluate, and engage with fact-checkers. In doing so, it seeks to clarify what expectations audiences hold of fact-checking organisations and how these expectations intersect with wider political and media environments. The findings aim to contribute to broader debates about the democratic role of fact-checking and the conditions under which it can most effectively fulfil its mission of countering disinformation.

Funding sources

My research is fully funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS), under the Journalism and Democracy pathway.

Biography

I am currently pursuing a PhD in Media and Communication with a focus on disinformation and fact-checking at Cardiff University (since October 2023). I previously completed an MA in Digital Media and Society at Cardiff University with Distinction in 2023, where my thesis examined claim selection and debunking processes in fact-checking through a mixed-methods study of two different fact-checking models in the UK. Earlier, I earned a First-Class BA (Honours) in Communication and Media from Istanbul University in 2014.

Education

• PhD in Media and Communication (Disinformation and Fact-Checking) – Cardiff University, UK (ongoing, started October 2023)

• MA (Distinction), Digital Media and Society – Cardiff University, UK (2023)
  Thesis: Examining Claim Selection and Debunking Processes in Fact-Checking: A Mixed Methods Study on Two Different Fact-Checking Models in the UK

• BA (Honours), Communication and Media (First-Class) – Istanbul University, Türkiye (2014)

Supervisors

Stephen Cushion

Director of Research and Impact (and REF lead)