Editorial: when sedition becomes a strategy

As the conflict between Israel and Lebanon drags on, another battle is being fought in parallel: the war of information, a less visible but equally destructive war. A Lebanese television channel recently accused Hezbollah of hiding among refugees sheltering in schools, fuelling panic without any evidence being provided. This accusation, which is largely unfounded, has caused concern among the refugees themselves, but also among NGOs and volunteers on the ground. We are in the midst of psychological warfare, where the spread of fake news is used to manipulate and divide.

In a country like Lebanon, where press freedom exists, this situation is all the more dangerous. The media have a responsibility to verify information before disseminating it. Without this filter, they risk becoming vectors of sedition, unwittingly playing into the hands of those who seek to sow discord. Israel, for example, is not satisfied with conventional warfare; The Israeli authorities are also counting on the fragmentation of Lebanese society to provoke a new civil war. The strategy is clear: exploit Lebanon’s internal flaws to weaken Hezbollah by inciting the population to turn against it.

This is not a hypothesis, it is a well-known tactic. Lebanon’s recent history shows the extent to which communal tensions and internal conflicts can be manipulated by outside powers. By calling on the Lebanese people to rise up against Hezbollah, Benjamin Netanyahu is banking on precisely this lever of sedition. He hopes that the psychological pressure, combined with war fatigue, will trigger internal conflicts capable of serving Israeli interests.

Meanwhile, in Israel, information is tightly controlled. Military losses are minimized to maintain popular support for an operation that is bogged down. The army speaks of fewer than 15 deaths in the north, while independent sources report 45 deaths. This manipulation of figures contributes to the management of public image, which is essential for a government that fears the weariness of its population in the face of a conflict that does not seem to be coming to an end.

In the face of this information war, the Lebanese media have a key role to play. By spreading unfounded rumors, they risk falling into the trap set by Israel: deepening divisions and inciting revolt against the refugees, who include the Shiite community and not only those close to Hezbollah but also Sunnis, Druze and Christians. In the end, it is all the Lebanese, regardless of their communities, who are targeted, especially since Netanyahu threatens Lebanon to become a new Gaza, and therefore all Lebanese. The Lebanese who are not refugees today will be able to be refugees tomorrow and this imposes on us a duty of solidarity and responsibility.

In this climate, it is time for responsibility. Fact-checking is not simply a professional imperative, it is a condition for the survival of the country’s social cohesion. Lebanon cannot afford to become the scene of a civil war unleashed by disinformation and manipulation.

More than ever, news providers must live up to this responsibility. The spread of lies, whether intentional or not, only serves those who hope to see Lebanon collapse from within. The Lebanese people, already tried by years of crises, deserve better than this.