The Long May: Fifth Stop, Gaziantep

The final session of the EU Delegation’s Disinformation Training program was held at Gaziantep University. EU Delegation celebrates Europe Day in a few cities in Türkiye, and one of them took place in Gaziantep. The celebration reception took place at the Zeugma Museum. My sister and her husband are stationed in Nizip, Gaziantep, so it … Read more

The Long May: Fourth Stop, Vienna

I am just back from a two-day workshop in Vienna. I am intellectually energized, as these small-scale workshops are the most productive academic sessions. It was an official meeting of the EASA Media Anthropology Network. It was great to catch up with some of the members I already knew and meet new academics. You can … Read more

Erkan’s recent Media appearances

The new media order is being questioned. Social media platforms that are sensitive to personal data, ad-free, and not managed by a single entity are on the rise. Users are turning to a new digital world where they have control. The digital migration is gaining momentum. Prof. Erkan Saka, Faculty Member at Istanbul Bilgi University’s … Read more

How AI Reshapes Our Access to Knowledge: Notes from My İstanbul Aydın University Talk

I was invited to a talk at İstanbul Aydın University’s event last week. That allowed me to list AI’s role in accessing information. I have formatted my speech notes into content for this blog. Contemporary knowledge landscapes are increasingly characterized by overwhelming information density, posing significant challenges to human cognitive capacities. Artificial intelligence systems now … Read more

The Long May Continues: Third Stop, Trabzon

We stopped by Trabzon University as part of the EU delegation disinformation project. I have a Trabzonspor jersey! Prof. Mehmet Emir Yıldız (L) honored me by saying that he had actually read my writings when he was writing his dissertation. The weather was fantastic. I had a late-night stroll at the main square. It was … Read more

The Long May Continues: Second Stop, Ankara

Our second stop on my May schedule was a workshop in Ankara. A group of NGO activists and some technicians met to brainstorm about using technology in civil society. It was organized by a collective.   Sinem and I were so tired that we could not visit any particular places, but could only meet a … Read more

A Long May Begins: First Stop, Diyarbakır

May 2025 will be full of traveling, both domestic and international. After Yozgat, my next stop was Diyarbakır (Dicle University) as part of the EU delegation seminars on disinformation. In fact, this was two days ago, but for the sake of narrative (!) I added the Diyarbakır trip to the long May (I am writing … Read more

Remains of the day; a panel on Brain Rot, nostalgia over a high school WP group, family home changes

I started the day earlier today by attending a panel in Gebze. I acted as the group’s technophile. When I receive the video, I will summarize my talk. My parents finally decided to move to another apartment. This is another instance of Istanbul’s massive urban transformation in the face of an impending major earthquake. My … Read more

A summary of my interview at NTV: “How to Prevent Information Pollution About Artificial Intelligence?”

How to Prevent Information Pollution About Artificial Intelligence? – Digital Brain, April 17, 2025 Time Interval: 00:00:00 – 00:26:28 Summary 🧠 What Is AI Literacy and Why It Matters The interview explores the growing importance of AI literacy, emphasizing that with the proliferation of AI applications, societies need to understand, use, and manage these tools … Read more

Hailing from Yozgat, Turkey.

I have never been to Yozgat, but a full day of training on media literacy and countering disinformation allowed me to visit. The Bozok University Communication School hosted us, and I appreciated my colleagues’ efforts to be useful to their students. I did not have time to visit the downtown, but I stayed in a … Read more

My birthday presentation on Generative AI and Disinformation (!)

It was my birthday yesterday, and I am 49 now. As my close friends know, I prefer my routine life. I am a bit stressed with non-routine days, and accordingly, I am not excited to celebrate my birthday at all. Still, it is good to be beloved, and I know that I have my people … Read more

In Wroclaw, for a COST meeting

As Türkiye is embroiled in boycotts and other political clashes, I am spending a few days in Wroclaw, Poland, for a COST meeting. I recently joined this project and find it relevant to my research agenda. The RELINK2 Action will intensify existing networking efforts of scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds and countries in the EU … Read more

I am quoted in this article: “Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives …in Turkiye”

Dear Bilge and her colleagues interviewed me, among other experts and academics, for the article: Şenyüz, B., Özgen, E., & Oğuzcan, A. U. (2025). Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives on its benefits, challenges, and future prospects in Turkiye. Encontros Bibli: revista eletrônica de biblioteconomia e ciência da … Read more

Istanbul under snow, Preparing syllabi for my courses, Playing Civ VII

After 4 or 5 years, Istanbul finally got a good load of snow that immediately broke down the city’s ordinary life. Traffic was overloaded, the roads were not good for many to drive, and schools were closed. We are not in a formal closure, but most lecturers worked at home as the classes will start … Read more

Newly released: Open educational materials for “Sustainability, circular economy, and creative computing”

I was also part of the preparation. Introduction Why did we create this material? Currently, there is an increasing concern about sustainability and robustness of complex infrastructures upon which many of our day-to-day activities depend. In the European Union, the term circular economy is a well-established element of the European Green Deal, describing a transformation … Read more