Document details

Lebanon's Information Environment: Exploring Appropriate Responses

Metn: Samir Kassir Foundation;National Endowment for Democracy (NED) (2023), 32 pp.
"The purpose of this study is twofold: to understand how the Lebanese public consumes news published on traditional and alternative media, with a focus on how they perceive and deal with disinformation campaigns and fake news, and to build a comprehensive view of the organizations and initiatives that are working on mis/disinformation in Lebanon since 2019. Understanding the media landscape and media consumption in Lebanon will inform future interventions on disinformation. The first part of the report examines the media landscape vis-à-vis the legal framework that governs broadcast and print media. It also offers a glimpse of news consumption behaviors in Lebanese society and discusses disinformation narratives that emerged around major events that have occurred in the last three years. The report will showcase how disinformation thrives in critical moments and provide analysis on the different factors that contribute to the surge in disinformation. The second part of the report presents the findings from the mapping that the Samir Kassir Foundation (SKF) conducted on initiatives and organizations that target mis/disinformation in Lebanon. This section also provides an assessment of some projects that were implemented in the last three years." (Executive summary)
1 Executive Summary, 4
2 Introduction, 7
3 Methodology, 9
4 Media Landscape and Consumption in Lebanon, 11
5 Mis- and Disinformation in Lebanon, 15
Major Disinformation Topics: The Syrian Refugee Crisis -- The Beirut Port Explosion -- Covid-19 -- The Assassination of Writer and Activist Lokman Slim -- The Economic Crisis
6 Findings and Analysis, 21
7 Analysis and Recommendations, 29
Donors -- Media Outlets and Journalists -- Social Media Platforms -- Civil Society Organizations