Galway university 'fake news' expert claims fake doctorate

RTÉ News · Paul Murphy · 2026-11-06 06:00 UTC

A leading Irish academic who is an expert on disinformation and 'fake news' has been falsely claiming to have a doctorate from a distinguished English university, Prime Time has established

A leading Irish academic and former Fulbright scholar who is an expert on disinformation and 'fake news' has been falsely claiming to have a doctorate from a distinguished English university, Prime Time has established.

Tom Felle, an associate professor at University of Galway's Department of Journalism and Media who was head of the department until last year, has been described as "Dr Tom Felle" on the university’s website, including in prospectuses designed to attract students to study at the college.

In a submission on University of Galway branded notepaper earlier this year to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, he was also presented as "Dr Tom Felle".

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