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"Truth isn't shared anymore. It’s manufactured."

For a decade, the script has been the same: Iran is "two weeks away" from a nuclear weapon. Is this a fact, or a decade-long disinformation campaign designed to sell an illegal war? From AI-generated war footage to bot networks swinging European elections, the "Disinformation Machine" is the most dangerous weapon system of the 21st century. And it’s in full swing in the US-Israel war on Iran. 

This week on The Tea, Marc Owen Jones, Associate Professor at Northwestern University in Qatar and author of Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East, exposes the empires that turn hate into profit and the disinformation machines operating on Meta, X, TikTok, and beyond.

We discuss:

⚡ Iran and America’s war narratives: AI deepfakes and propaganda fuelling escalation

⚡ How the major tech companies profit from fake news and our outrage

⚡ How Donald Trump and others weaponise “truth”

⚡ Inside the global far-right disinformation networks

⚡ From “Islamism” to “Muslims”: how language gets quietly weaponised

⚡ UAE, Israel, and evangelical alliances — a shared anti-Muslim agenda

⚡ Dubai’s golden cage: influence, image, and narrative control

⚡ Far-right Islamophobic agenda targeting the mayors of London and NY

⚡ The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the 2024 disinformation push

⚡ Can UK and EU laws actually curb disinformation?

As Mark argues, disinformation isn’t just noise – it shapes policy, fuels racism, and prepares the ground for war. The narrative is messy, but the stakes are painfully real.

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AUDIO CREDITS

Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François

Guest: Marc Owen Jones

Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi

Producer: Nadège Bizimungu

Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs

Research: Maryam Abada, Ayman Ahmer, Ariana Hashtrudi, Dahlia Melaine and Martha Missingham

Video Editor: Max Bubnov

An MPWR Productions show.

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