[Book Talk] Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East

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Disinformation can lead to indoctrination, which can in turn lead to incitement. The Arab world has been a victim of violence incited by an information disorder. Who wields the “stick” of (dis)information? Social media and digital technology, which helped fuel the Arab Spring, is now being used as a tool of counter-revolutionary repression to protect the authoritarian status quo across the MENA region, especially from perceived ‘Islamist’ threats and Iranian expansionism. Up until now the study of disinformation, which has tended to frame Russia and China as forces undermining Western security, has rarely examined the Middle East and Western-allied Gulf states.

In this webinar, Dr Marc Owen Jones explains the chains of information operations in the Middle East, particularly the main projectors of digital media power in the Gulf Arab states. Describing a new era of Gulf politics as a “post-truth moment,” Dr Jones argues that digital technology has been employed in influence operations to the degree that right-wing American policy and foreign policy of Gulf states intertwine.

Dr Jones’ upcoming book, Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East, will also address issues such as sportswashing, pseudo-reality industries, and the silencing of journalists and women. Join the Middle East Institute for this book talk with the author.