Lebanese Revolution: Control and Manipulation
Internet and high technology companies have joined the elite. You know why? Well, because data has become the most precious thing on earth… More precious than water and oil.
Meet “Megaphone”. An all-Lebanese media channel that analyzes, discusses and explains local news. It also shares and promotes data and news; using video, photography, and digital tools. It is a hidden collective revolutionizing the Lebanese media landscape. They choose to stay anonymous: A group of friends that banded together to challenge the dominant media outlets in Lebanon and in doing so, have created a space for a new discourse that actively defies the old order.
Image credit: Megaphone
Have you ever thought about why this revolution became so important? We’ve had the same problems for our entire lives and still, we never united as one people. We never fought the system. Know this: You were dragged to the streets to protest. I must tell you that because it wasn’t the case before. You know how and why you decided to leave your house and actually be part of the protests? We’re mobilizing or no... we’re being mobilized.
First, let’s go back to Megaphone. Megaphone’s videos of the protests accumulated a million views when they published online just one week after the start of the revolution. The number of protesters quickly began to increase. The revolution is live. From events like November’s “Women’s March” launched on Instagram by Lebanese entrepreneur Sarah Beydoun, to the human chain of October 28th that swept the country from north to south, the movement was producing a constant barrage of viral content that welcomed the gaze of prominent international media outlets.
Image credit: The 961
We’re the online generation, constantly grappling with our smartphones to stay informed and updated. These posts will continue to power the revolution. Aside from footage from the ground, social media posts that shame politicians and show us just how corrupt our system is, have overwhelmed Facebook, Instagram, and even WhatsApp. This is the truth that we have always known, but the streets weren’t filled with flags or megaphones or Dalí masks. Our social media finally reflects these streets: corruption and inequality. These images of corruption encouraged us to continue. Our numbers were unprecedented and created a scenario where our national TV channels, controlled by the elite, were unprepared; forced to report conflicting and inaccurate stories of the uprisings. This is the opposition’s force against its people. This is how they fight back. You think that our politicians will sit and wait until they’re kicked out?
You might say no. We are the ones who decided to start the revolution. Then fine, we did start it in the first place, but we needed the media to cover our point of view. We needed a force. An online force. Influencers with many followers; videos; photos that tell of our fight and stimulate us enough to share them and to grow our numbers. And it exists. Google “marketing digital tools” and you’ll realize that nothing is free. Google knows everything. Google is also free, just like Facebook. Free, yet the data they collect about us is worth billions of dollars. So, the question is who buys this data and actually, if you know, who has mine?
We are in a so-called “war of influence” between two forces, for and against the political elite. Our own social media is being used against us: to disseminate disinformation and spread fear. Take Twitter, another battleground in this war of influence. Computer bots have been used to send a misspelled hashtag trending. Also, fake accounts are being created to support politicians. The soul of a Lebanese citizen is caught between two warring entities. One force seeks to convince the Lebanese not to protest because it is dangerous or because it is against their sectarian political leader’s point of view, while the second entity informs and encourages the Lebanese citizen to break the system.
So we protest and we fight against this corruption, but we’re surrounded. Do you think WhatsApp messages are encrypted and secure in Lebanon? Well, there is “no personal data protection law in place, nor an active telecommunications regulatory authority that would protect users'', according to SMEX director, Mohammad Najem. In fact, “it is easy to have access to a great deal of data if you pay enough money,” confirms USJ’s Stéphane Bazan. And you must know that “Internet service providers like Ogero, IDM, Alfa or MTC have access to metadata,” said Mohammad Najem. Plus, we all know who owns these telecommunication companies. Do you think it’s hard for our corrupt elitist politicians to access our WhatsApp messages or use them for surveillance? Perhaps they do indeed read them. I imagine that it must come as a great shock for them to realize that the Lebanese men and women of 2020 are no longer puppets of the broken system.
