[Commlist] PhD studentship in Generative AI and journalism

PhD studentship in Generative AI and journalism

Applications are open for a PhD studentship at the University of Derby. 
Details of the project and funding are provided below.
_From News to Synthetic Reality: Audience Trust, Geopolitical Narratives 
and Generative AI - Studentship opportunities - University of Derby_ 
<https://www.derby.ac.uk/research/degrees/applicants/studentship-opportunities/mphil-phd-studentship-from-news-to-synthetic-reality/>
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*Project Summary*
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is transforming how people 
access, interpret and share information about international events. 
AI-powered search engines, chatbots, recommendation systems and 
content-generation tools increasingly shape public understanding of 
wars, elections, migration, diplomacy and global crises. Yet little is 
known about how audiences evaluate and trust information generated, 
curated or amplified by AI.
This PhD project will explore how audiences engage with GenAI-mediated 
geopolitical information across contemporary digital media environments. 
Drawing on journalism studies, audience research, digital media studies 
and critical approaches to AI, the research will examine how trust, 
credibility, authenticity and authority are negotiated within an 
information ecosystem in which human-generated and AI-generated content 
increasingly coexist.
The project will adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining discourse 
analysis, audience research and digital media methods. It will 
investigate how AI shapes geopolitical narratives, how audiences 
interpret them, and how media organisations, educators and policymakers 
can respond to the challenges and opportunities created by AI-mediated 
communication.
Applicants may address questions including:

  * How is GenAI reshaping the production, circulation and consumption
    of geopolitical news and information across digital platforms?
  * How do audiences assess the credibility, trustworthiness and
    authority of AI-generated and human-generated geopolitical content?
  * How do social, cultural and geopolitical contexts shape audience
    trust in AI-mediated information?
  * What roles do political knowledge, media literacy and familiarity
    with AI play in shaping trust and scepticism?
  * How do AI-powered search engines, chatbots and recommendation
    systems influence the prominence, visibility and omission of
    geopolitical narratives?
  * How can the findings support journalism practice, media literacy
    initiatives and responsible AI governance?

The project offers opportunities to work with qualitative, quantitative 
and digital research methods while contributing to current debates 
concerning AI, journalism, media power, information disorder and global 
communication.
*Funding*
The funding package includes:

  * Home-rate tuition fees for three years, subject to the terms and
    conditions of the studentship; and
  * a maintenance stipend, set in line with the applicable UKRI minimum
    stipend rate.

Please note that the studentship covers tuition fees at the Home-student 
rate only. International applicants may apply, but they should carefully 
review the funding and eligibility information on the official project 
webpage, including any tuition-fee difference for which they may be 
responsible.
More information for international applicants at this link: 
_International students - Life - University of Derby_ 
<https://www.derby.ac.uk/life/international-students/>
*Applicants should consult the official studentship webpage for the 
confirmed funding package, eligibility requirements and applicable terms 
and conditions.*
For full information, including the funding arrangements, eligibility 
criteria, entry requirements and application instructions, please visit 
the _University of Derby webpage_ 
<https://www.derby.ac.uk/research/degrees/applicants/studentship-opportunities/mphil-phd-studentship-from-news-to-synthetic-reality/>- 
_From News to Synthetic Reality: Audience Trust, Geopolitical Narratives 
and Generative AI - Studentship opportunities - University of Derby_ 
<https://www.derby.ac.uk/research/degrees/applicants/studentship-opportunities/mphil-phd-studentship-from-news-to-synthetic-reality/>
*Application deadline: Sunday 8 November 2026.*
Submit applications through the _official studentship webpage_ 
<https://www.derby.ac.uk/research/degrees/applicants/studentship-opportunities/mphil-phd-studentship-from-news-to-synthetic-reality/>.
For informal enquiries about the project, please contact Dr Maria Urbina 
Montana at (M.UrbinaMontana /at/ derby.ac.uk) or Dr Beth Wood at 
(B.Wood /at/ derby.ac.uk).

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