My research is located at the nexus between polarisation and misinformation. Here, I create documentary films and now VR experiences that ask: Why do some politically-moderate people turn away from mainstream knowledge and align themselves with alternative media, alternative views and ultimately “alternative facts”? 

The relevance and importance of my work is simple: In the digital age, we need to find new solutions to the growing problems of misinformation and its close cousin, polarisation. I approach this work with a focus on the people who turn away from orthodox knowledges, exploring their experiences through the theoretical lenses of Actor-Network Theory and poststructuralism. In seeking to understand - and represent - the experiences of people who move from moderate socio-political positions to alternative views, my work offers an innovative approach to misinformation research. My creative work brings together the academy and the general public, the believers and the sceptics, the misinformed and the experts.

Why? Because we can’t defeat misinformation without engaging directly with the people who believe it, and inviting them back into the public sphere. How? By creating digital stories that offer diverse audiences a shared experience. Using the novel production practice developed through my PhD, I use VR experiences to foreground conversations, debates and engagements with experts that challenge misinformed views without ostracising people who hold them. 

My VR experiences, which include creative practice research, qualitative methods, and socio-environmental enquiry, create impact beyond academia, leading to my emerging position as a thought leader in the potential solutions to misinformation.