In the latest episode of Unlocking Academia, host Raja Aderdor sits down with Marc Owen Jones, associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, to explore the complex world of digital deception in the Middle East, as outlined in his book Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation and Social Media (Hurst/Oxford UP, 2021).

Marc draws on years of experience growing up in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as well as living and working in Sudan, Syria, Germany, and the UK. His perspective offers both depth and global context. In the episode, he discusses how social media has become a tool for manipulation, with bots, fake accounts, and disinformation campaigns shaping public discourse and limiting civil society. The conversation explores how these tactics function, their consequences, and the growing challenge of digital authoritarianism.

Timely and insightful, this episode highlights the importance of understanding the role of digital technologies in shaping truth, politics, and media in the Middle East and beyond.

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