Steven Emerson

Steven Emerson (born June 6, 1954) is an American journalist, author, and pundit on national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism. Emerson is the author of six books, and co-author of two more. His television documentary Jihad in America won the 1994 George Polk Award for best television documentary, and top prize for best investigative reporting from Investigative Reporters and Editors. He is also the Executive Director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), a data-gathering center on Islamist groups. Emerson's credibility was challenged when he made claims on television concerning the city of Birmingham which led British Prime Minister David Cameron to say that Emerson is "clearly a complete idiot." The British broadcasting regulator Ofcom subsequently censured Fox News for airing the comments, which they characterised as "materially misleading" and "a serious breach for a current affairs programme".

Emerson has testified before Congressional committees on such topics including Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. Some of Emerson's statements related to Muslims in the US and Europe have been criticized for inaccuracies, and he has been described as a "Islamophobe" and as a discredited "terrorism expert".