The relation between investigative journalism and the dark web in Lebanon : in light of the authoritarian theory

Abstract

For over 4 years (2017-2021), new content was constantly being added to this research, for a long-term observation of events, such as the rise and fall of Lebanese figures: after this paper’s interviews, two of the interviewees witnessed their superiors being convicted (Khalil Sehnaoui from Krypton Security, and Suzanne Hajj Hobeiche from the Internal Security Forces). The authoritarian theory was judged as most appropriate to convey the necessity of a technology that would allow private communication among citizens of oppressive regimes: most dangerously, however, is when journalists do not have the right to stand against their government; ironically, an authority only gives considerable freedom to minority thoughts and cultural issues to promote them if it doesn’t make any threats to the authority. Primary research was key in the search of genuine, unpublished results, which is essential for a topic of this specificity: interview questions were all about interlinking investigative journalism with dark web usage in Lebanon. To summarize the findings, and among all the mentioned Lebanese internet cases that caught widespread attention, none was proved to have involved dark web usage (but none was proved otherwise, either); the private and public sectors in Lebanon both have the resources to undergo successful cyber-operations; until mid-2021, a cyber-crime* law was still not legislated*; dark web users in Lebanon make for less than 1% of all internet users; Al Jadeed investigative journalists are trained by a specialized organization (ARIJ).