Marc Owen Jones

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Bio

Marc Owen Jones is a nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. He is an associate professor of media analytics at Northwestern University in Qatar.

His recent work has focused on how social media has been used to spread disinformation and fake news in the Middle East. He published a book Disinformation and Deception in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation and Social Media (Hurst Books and Oxford University Press, May 2022). Previously, his research focused on political repression and he published a monograph Political Repression in Bahrain (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

Jones has won multiple awards for his work, with his Ph.D. thesis winning the 2016 best thesis award from the Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies. In 2021, he won the UK alumni professional achievement award from the British Council in Qatar. He has also won several awards for teaching both at Exeter University and HBKU.

He is the editor of several books on Bahrain and the Gulf including Bahrain’s Uprising: Resistance and Repression in the Gulf  and Gulfization of the Arab World  (Gerlach Press, 2018). Jones has also written for many international media outlets including the Washington Post, CNN, the Independent, and the New Statesman. His work features frequently in publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian and he makes regular appearances on BBC, Al Jazeera, LBC, CBC News, and many others.

Research Areas

  • Disinformation
  • Digital authoritarianism
  • Propaganda
  • Social media

Countries of Focus

  • Bahrain
  • Arabian Peninsula
  • Saudi Arabia
  • United Arab Emirates

Other Areas of Interest

  • Gulf
  • Middle East and North Africa

Education

  • Ph.D., Government and International Affairs, Durham University, UK, 2016
  • MSc., Arab World Studies, Durham University, 2010
  • B.A., Journalism, Film, and Broadcasting, Cardiff University, 2006

Articles

Seven experts take the pulse of public opinion in the Middle East and North Africa, from evolving views of external and regional powers to political priorities to the impacts of social media. 
Omar H. Rahman, Michael Robbins, Hamidreza Azizi, Marc Owen Jones, Yasmina Abouzzohour, Dalia Ghanem, Ahmed Morsy
The devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria have resulted in a massive loss of lives and infrastructure, with many more still injured, homeless, and vulnerable. What are the various aspects of the aftermath and policy implications of this tragedy?
Tarik M. Yousef, Nader S. Kabbani, Ahmet F. Aysan, Larbi Sadiki, Marc Owen Jones, Ranj Alaaldin
With less than one week left before the start of the tournament, scheduled for November 20 through December 18, 2022, experts from the Middle East Council on Global Affairs reflect below on the various dimensions of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Tarik M. Yousef, Marc Owen Jones, Ranj Alaaldin, Nejla Ben Mimoune, Faozi Al-Goidi, Beverley Milton Edwards, Adel Abdel Ghafar