Online media overview: Lebanon

ESSENTIAL FACTS

> The Lebanese population is characterised by a very high level of Internet connectivity, particularly owing to very widespread mobile access.
> There is a level of freedom of information unparalleled in the Arab world, but citizen-journalists and bloggers are subject to regular pressure.
> The online media sector is very dynamic, with a number of very popular news websites that are now stealing a march on the predominantly outmoded paper-format daily newspapers.
> The environment is highly politicised, with all media being directly or indirectly linked to a faction or a political party.
> 46% of the population is on Facebook, and social media exchanges reveal the country's marked political polarisation.
> Online advertising investment is significant but insufficient to guarantee website independence from the world of politics.
> In Lebanon there are at least tentative moves afoot to set up a pay-access website via a paywall.

News websites to watch :
An Nahar, Al-Akhbar, Now (Lebanon), Naharnet, L'Orient-Le Jour, Raseef22.

METHODOLOGY

Each country file starts with four indicators to illustrate the environment within which the online media are evolving:

• Internet penetration level, according to the 2013 figures from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• Online advertising revenue per Internet user per annum, for 2015, according to Arab Media Outlook projections cross-referenced with the ITU statistics
• The 2015 Work Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters without Borders
• The Freedom of the Net 2014 Index, compiled by Freedom House

The above four indicators are represented graphically in the four quarters of a "sonar" screen, in which the coloured area is proportional to the absolute value (in the case of Internet penetration level) or relative value (in the case of word press and Internet freedom scores and for advertising revenue) across the sample for the eight indicator countries.

A table then lists the five principal news websites most visited in that country, in accordance with the Alexa platform ranking.

For each of these news websites we indicate the following:

• The website URL
• The number of Likes on its Facebook page
• The number of its followers on Twitter
• The type of news website: