Disinformation and electronic armies: How Lebanon's political class uses fake news to win elections

in

This article first appeared in the New Arab.

With Lebanon’s general election announced for May, media experts and activists fear that establishment politicians will undermine the democratic process by spreading and amplifying disinformation across social media – just as they have done in the past.

Lebanese citizens are looking to the upcoming parliamentary elections as the first step toward ridding themselves of a corrupt political class that has failed to respond to a revolution, a global pandemic, one of the world’s largest-ever non-nuclear explosions and a crippling financial crisis.

Read More

Why hopes remain dim for free and fair elections in Lebanon

in

This article originally appeared in the New Arab.

On 15 May, Lebanon will hold parliamentary elections for the first time since the popular uprising that targeted the country’s political elite three years ago.

Since then, anger at the ruling class has grown exponentially due to a self-inflicted economic crisis that has plunged millions into poverty, locked them out of their bank accounts, and eradicated their savings.

The Beirut port blast on 4 August 2020, which people largely blame on the negligence of the sectarian government, compounded the grief. More than 200 people died while hundreds of thousands lost their homes.

Read More