Dr. Marc Owen Jones

Marc Owen Jones is an Associate Professor of Media Analytics at Northwestern University in Qatar, where he specializes in exposing disinformation campaigns and investigating digital authoritarianism in the Middle East. A leading expert in social media manipulation, disinformation, and political repression, his research has uncovered networks of fake journalists and state-sponsored bot and troll campaigns targeting global politics.

 

In addition to his other publications, Jones has authored two books: Political Repression in Bahrain (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East (Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2022). His work has earned multiple accolades, including the British Council’s UK Alumni Professional Achievement Award and inclusion in Foreign Affairs’ 2023 list of “Books of the Year.” His PhD thesis also won the AGAPS Award for Best Thesis in 2016.

 

His investigations have made headlines globally, from revealing disinformation surrounding Jamal Khashoggi’s murder to successfully challenging the UK Foreign Office in a tribunal over historical torture cases in Bahrain. Jones’s work appears regularly in major media outlets, ranging from The New York Times and The Washington Post to Al Jazeera English and the BBC. Jones grew up in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and has worked and studied in Sudan, Syria, Germany, and the UK.