The Project on Middle East Political Science partnered with Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law…
Continue ReadingDigital Activism and Authoritarian Adaptation
Changing Sources: Social Media Activity During Civil War
Anita Gohdes, Hertie School, Berlin and Zachary C. Steinert Threlkeld, University of California, Los Angeles[1] Introduction From isolated protests to…
Continue ReadingMiddle East Influence Operations: Observations Across Social Media Takedowns
M.A., Renée DiResta, Stanford University; Josh A. Goldstein, Stanford University; and Shelby Grossman, Stanford University Introduction The 2009 Green Movement…
Continue ReadingRussian Digital Influence Operations in Turkey 2015-2020
Akin Unver, Ozyegin University and Ahmet Kurnaz, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University The literature on online disinformation studies focuses disproportionately on…
Continue ReadingOfficial Foreign Influence Operations: International Broadcasters in the Arab Online Sphere
Alexandra A. Siegel, University of Colorado – Boulder International broadcasters, or state-funded media aimed at foreign publics, have long been…
Continue ReadingDigital Orientalism: #SaveSheikhJarrah and Arabic Content Moderation
Mahsa Alimardani and Mona Elswah, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford These voices will increase in number and volume. They…
Continue ReadingFollow the Money for Better Digital Rights in the Arab Region
Afef Abrougui, Independent Consultant and Researcher and Mohamad Najem, Executive Director, SMEX Member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Bahrain,…
Continue ReadingTracking Adversaries and First Responding to Disinfo Ops: The Evolution of Deception and Manipulation Tactics on Gulf Twitter
Marc Owen Jones, Hamad Bin Khalifa University Authoritarian regimes and other ‘bad’ actors in the Middle East are using social…
Continue ReadingSocial Media Manipulation in the MENA: Inauthenticity, Inequality, and Insecurity
Andrew Leber, Harvard University[1] and Alexei Abrahams, Harvard University[2] Over the past decade across the Middle East, social media platforms…
Continue ReadingTransnational Digital Repression in the MENA Region
Marwa Fatafta, Access Now “I have left my home, my family, and my job, and I am raising my voice.…
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