Six years after the October 2019 uprising, Lebanon’s independent media scene stands as one of the few surviving remnants of the country’s anti-establishment movement. While the uprising yielded the election of 12 anti-establishment MPs in 2022, most grassroots groups seeking justice and accountability struggled to build lasting institutions due to the emigration of many activists, the inaccessibility of funds, and the difficulty of sustaining momentum. The independent media ecosystem, comprising a dozen digital platforms and many independent journalists, are among the few emerging counterpowers that survived Lebanon’s multilayered crises and continued to hold its political and financial elite accountable.
Independent media platforms have become central to accountability efforts in Lebanon, especially following the economic collapse and the Beirut Port explosion, after which many citizens sought outlets beyond pre-existing politically-affiliated media platforms. As in other post-uprising contexts in the Arab world, independent media platforms survived the counterrevolutionary wave and the deflation of political activism, maintaining their mission to uphold justice and individual rights.
Today, as international pressure revives discussions on financial and economic reform, Lebanon’s powerful bank lobby has intensified its attack on outlets exposing its financial schemes to evade accountability. Independent media outlets now face mounting legal harassment, smear campaigns, political intimidation, and the threat of a new repressive legislation.
The origins and mission of Lebanon’s independent media
Founded in 2017, Megaphone and Daraj marked Lebanon’s late entry into the ecosystem of independent digital media in the Arab world, which gained prominence in the region following the Arab Spring in 2011. It included the likes of Mada Masr and Al Manassa in Egypt, Al-Jumhuriya and Enab Baladi in Syria, as well as Inkyfada and Nawaat in Tunisia. Their emergence coincided with a pivotal moment in Lebanon’s media landscape and its rising anti-establishment movement.
At the time, Lebanese traditional outlets—both print and television—were in crisis amid collapsing advertising revenues and the withdrawal of foreign political funding, particularly from Gulf countries that redirected their investments toward Gulf-based satellite news channels. This resulted in the shutting down of established outlets such as legacy newspaper As-Safir and Future TV. And while Lebanon did have blogs and news websites before 2017, its media ecosystem had been slow to embrace the digital and social media revolution. Independent outlets seized this moment of rupture amid the crisis of traditional media: they leveraged the opportunities offered by social media to build a new model of journalism that circumvented pre-approved licenses required for print and audiovisual outlets or the censorship of politically-affiliated media owners.
Independent outlets played a key role in unpacking and hammering down the mechanics of the economic collapse in accessible terms
Independent outlets played a key role in unpacking and hammering down the mechanics of the economic collapse in accessible terms, contrasting with the hard-to-understand language used by economic experts, allowing a broader audience to be informed of their rights. Furthermore, these outlets published in both Arabic and English, reaching young audiences and the English-speaking Lebanese diaspora. Their use of simplified Arabic, and specifically the Lebanese dialect in their video reports, made their content accessible and relatable.
They essentially filled a gap in the media landscape. A new generation of digital natives, shaped by the mass protests over Lebanon’s waste management crisis in 2015, a precursor to the 2019 uprising, was eager to understand the country’s political and economic transformations. Filling this need, independent platforms expanded after 2019, giving rise to a broader ecosystem that included dozens of social media native platforms such as The Lawyard and PolyBlog, and digital platforms such as Sifr Magazine and The Public Source.
From the outset, independent media outlets adopted a critical stance toward Lebanon’s political elite, religious authorities, and security apparatus. They stood out from traditional media by being among the first to raise the alarm on the imminent financial and monetary crisis long before the 2019 collapse alongside economists such as Mohamad Zbeeb and Toufic Gaspard. They also covered issues often neglected by mainstream outlets: human rights violations, gender-based violence, homophobia, environmental crimes, and structural racism targeting refugees and migrant domestic workers.
After the 2019 uprising, independent media outlets as well as independent journalists played a key role in amplifying the grievances of protesters across Lebanon, and disrupted the monopoly of images and narratives long held by traditional pro-establishment media. While television channels did cover the protest extensively, they also shielded some establishment figures, giving them generous airtime to rehabilitate their image and display their narrative.
Leading truth-seeking accountability efforts
Amid a dysfunctional judicial system obstructed by political interference and ineffective procedures spanning years, Lebanon’s independent media outlets, alongside several independent journalists, took upon themselves the mission of truth-seeking and public accountability. Different parts of the independent media ecosystem joined forces, particularly exposing several truths and leads pertaining to both the 2019 economic collapse and the Beirut Port explosion.
Following the 2019 economic collapse, independent media outlets started investigating the political and financial elite’s role in exacerbating the crisis, through deliberate inaction and illicit maneuverings aiming to protect their interests. They were the first to alert the public opinion on the dangerous financial engineering measures pursued by Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh in 2017, which allowed bank owners to amass exorbitant profit. Those maneuvers were then praised by most traditional media outlets which contributed to building the public’s trust in Salameh’s Ponzi scheme. As the crisis unfolded, investigative journalists such as Riad Kobaissi and independent outlets such as Daraj exposed Salameh’s illicit enrichment and money laundering practices as well as his use of shell companies to transfer his money abroad. Those journalistic efforts have prompted judicial investigations in Switzerland, France, and Germany, ultimately leading to Salameh’s arrest in Lebanon.
Following the 2019 economic collapse, independent media outlets started investigating the political and financial elite’s role in exacerbating the crisis
Megaphone also played a role in uncovering Salameh’s actions that worsened the effects of the financial crisis. A few weeks before the end of his term, Salameh illicitly transferred 77 trillion LBP in fictitious assets, inflicting the state with a $16.5 billion debt to shift the Central Bank’s losses onto public funds. Megaphone also unpacked Salameh’s manipulation of the parallel market exchange of US dollars through networks of private exchange shops with little transparency or traceability.
Through meticulous reporting, open-source intelligence (OSINT), and follow-the-money techniques, these outlets were also able to bring to light new information and connections that informed the Beirut Port explosion investigation process. By documenting evidence, exposing political interference, and keeping public pressure alive, these outlets played a crucial role in preventing the case from being buried, and filled a vacuum left by the judiciary, which was unable to fulfill its role given political interference and threats. For example, Daraj, in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), revealed the ownership network behind the ship that brought the explosive material to the port, while Megaphone built on investigative journalist Firas Hatoum’s findings to connect the ship that got the ammonium nitrate shipment to the Assad regime and Russian oligarchs.
Attempts to silence independent media
Given independent media’s crucial role in covering Lebanon’s economic crisis, it is no surprise that they became the target of a violent smear campaign once the long-delayed reform process regained momentum. Following international pressure and the appointment of reformist Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Lebanon finally resumed work on financial and economic restructuring this year, beginning with the adoption of a law lifting bank secrecy and paving the way to investigate financial crimes of the past decade. Independent media platforms were at the forefront of exposing those obstructing the banking secrecy law, publishing leaks from closed-door meetings. Their reporting heightened pressure on lawmakers amid international scrutiny, ultimately leading to the law’s adoption.
This development triggered a wave of attacks against independent media outlets. Lebanon’s most-watched talk show, sponsored by banker Antoun Sehnaoui, waged a systematic discrediting campaign against Daraj and Megaphone, accusing them of “undermining the state’s financial standing” and “spreading false news.” These accusations later turned into legal proceedings waged through pro-bank lawyers, leading both platforms to be summoned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office without formal charges, in clear violation of due process.
In the wake of the campaigns targeting independent media outlets, Parliament accelerated discussions around a new media law, raising alarm that legislative reform could be weaponized to restrict press freedom
In the wake of the campaigns targeting independent media outlets, Parliament accelerated discussions around a new media law, raising alarm that legislative reform could be weaponized to restrict press freedom. Lebanon’s current press law dates back to 1962, and its audiovisual law was enacted in 1994. Since 2010, a new media law has been under discussion in Parliament. While the latest draft was initially promising—it cancels prison sentences for journalists held on speech-related offenses and no longer requires licenses to set up news platforms—a leaked document revealed amendments introduced by the Minister of Information reinstating prison sentences for journalists, re-establishing licensing requirements for digital media, and adding other repressive measures. The minister later denied authoring the amendments, despite evidence to the contrary, and reaffirmed his commitment to media freedom.
The timing of the accelerated debate following an attack on digital outlets raises serious concerns about efforts to curb independent journalism under the guise of legal reform. Furthermore, the current legal framework makes no reference to digital platforms, leaving them more exposed to legal harassment than traditional outlets which benefit from clearer protections. Digital platforms, by contrast, must rely on jurisprudence and legal precedents to secure legal protection. Repeated declarations of public officials about the danger of social media also imply how digital journalism is slowly becoming a target for the authorities.
These developments come amid an increasingly repressive climate in Lebanon, where journalists and activists are regularly summoned by security agencies for interrogation. They also coincide with statements by President Joseph Aoun, who insisted that press freedom should “not be used to offend,” or become “a tool to incite against state symbols or friendly nations.”
Beyond Lebanon, Beirut has long served as a regional hub for free expression. Dissident journalists from across the Levant and the Gulf have relocated to the city over the years, particularly after 2011, to continue practicing journalism freely. Today, independent media outlets based in Beirut provide a vital space for a new generation of journalists from the region to hold their regimes accountable. Preserving this role is essential at a time when the entire region is experiencing an authoritarian turn.
Beyond the issue of free speech alone, independent media outlets are essential to holding the political class accountable. The reform process cannot succeed without a free press acting as a watchdog. It is therefore imperative that international observers engaged in Lebanon’s reform efforts closely monitor these developments and ensure that legal and political pressure is not used to silence independent journalism.
Jean Kassir is a Nonresident Fellow at TIMEP focusing on governance, politics, and economy in Lebanon. He is also the institute’s 2025-2026 Mohamed Aboelgheit Fellow.