An important article by Marc Owen Jones for all those working in digital zones.
Marc Owen Jones; Lessons from the Digital Coalface in the Post-Truth Age: Researching the Middle East Amid Authenticity Vacuums, Transnational Repression & Disinformation. Daedalus 2025; 154 (2): 132–156. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_02144
“Indeed, the more I conduct online research, the more uncertain I am that ve-
racity of data should even be a default assumption in digital research. For so long,
an epistemological assumption of social media data has been that a social media
account represents a living, real individual who is not acting with ulterior motives
or under duress. A necessary precaution for digital research may be to challenge
or even reverse this assumption.”
