October 15, 2024
By Nasser Kandil
• When a journalist expresses disagreement with Hezbollah’s decision to open a front in support of Gaza and remains unconvinced by Hezbollah’s argument that this is a preemptive defence for Lebanon, such a statement falls within the constitutional right of free expression. It is rooted in the concept of media freedom.
• However, when someone goes further and claims that, for these reasons, the Israeli aggression against Lebanon is not truly an aggression but merely a war against Hezbollah – and that Lebanese citizens have no duty to resist this aggression or share the burdens of the war – this undermines national solidarity in times of war, an act punishable by law. If they further add sectarian, religious, or regional divisions into their argument, they are inciting hatred and bigotry, which warrants harsher penalties. Yet even this kind of toxic misuse of freedom, though deplorable, can still be seen as part of Lebanon’s societal ailments.
• The real problem arises when media figures actively serve the enemy’s agenda. When a journalist claims that Hezbollah fighters are sheltering in refugee centres, they are not merely expressing an opinion – they are providing cover and inciting attacks on these centres. When others volunteer information that weapons depots are exploding due to airstrikes in areas like Dahieh, the South, and the Bekaa, they are justifying these attacks. In reality, these so-called “explosions” are delayed detonation bombs dropped by the occupying air force, designed to mimic the effect of weapons depot explosions. Such acts are not only heinous crimes but also worse than mere collaboration with the enemy – they are services to the aggression, delivered without hesitation, fueled by deep-seated hatred.
• The state, through its institutions, is obliged to act. The Ministry of Information and the National Media Council remain conspicuously absent, and the judiciary has shown no sign of intervention, though we hope it is not equally absent. As for the security forces, which once pursued social media posts that irritated the Governor of the Central Bank, where are they now in the face of these clearly defined crimes?
• The Lebanese people do not expect to emulate the occupying entity, where politicians may quarrel but unite during war, and military censorship tightly controls all media output. But in this war, where the media has become a critical element of security, such chaos cannot be tolerated – especially if we permit this manipulation of public opinion to go unchecked.
