Lebanon: Twitter, the preferred communication tool for diplomats
The Saudi Embassy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on October 30, 2021. AFP - ANWAR AMRO
Text by: Paul Khalifeh Follow
3 mins
Lebanon has always been open to foreign interference, encouraged by its political system based on a confessional distribution of high state functions.
Each religious community seeks support beyond borders.
The Shiites turn to Iran, the Sunnis to Saudi Arabia and the Christians to Western countries.
The nature of the Lebanese political system provides foreign diplomats with ample scope for interference in the country's internal affairs.
Whether Arab, Western or Asian, these diplomats use social networks as a privileged communication tool.
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From our correspondent in Beirut,
Social networks, and more particularly Twitter, occupy a central place in the communication strategy of foreign diplomats posted in Lebanon.
It is enough to consult the blue bird platform to realize how active ambassadors and other foreign representatives are, attracting many subscribers and generating reactions.
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Beirut, Walid Boukhari, tops the charts with 130,000 followers, far ahead of Islamic Republic of Iran representative Moujtabi Amani with 6,000 fans.
In terms of the accounts of Western chancelleries, that of the United States occupies first place with 74,000 subscribers, while France in Lebanon, the page run by the French Embassy, has 25,000 subscribers.
#السنه_الجديدة_2023 pic.twitter.com/UHIuzd4iAy
— Waleed A. Bukhari (@bukhariwaleeed) December 31, 2022
Interactive platform or press agency
The type of communication chosen by diplomats is different, some are more popular than others.
One of the most appreciated diplomats was the Japanese ambassador, who has just completed a three-year mission.
Takeshi Okubo has won the sympathy of thousands of Internet users by highlighting the positive aspects in a country hit by an unprecedented crisis.
Perfectly Arabic-speaking, the Japanese diplomat made the Lebanese rediscover their own country, which he traveled far and wide by posting images of its most beautiful tourist and natural sites.
Takeshi Okubo regularly published excerpts from Lebanese authors such as, on the day of his departure, this sentence from the famous writer Gibran Khalil Gibran: “
We only know the depth of friendship at the time of separation
”.
Some 11,000 followers liked this comment.
صورة بيروت قبل مغادرتي بقليل.
قلبي دائمآ موجود فيها.
مشتقالك يا بيروت!
pic.twitter.com/JCKBi5gJ2M
— Takeshi Okubo (@TakeshiOkubo3) December 4, 2022
The former Chinese consul, the very Arabic-speaking Cao Yi, was also a lover of Lebanon, its traditions and its cultural and artistic heritage.
The diva Fairouz, had her favors.
With these two diplomats, we almost forget that Lebanon today is
a country on its knees.
For other diplomats, Twitter is more of a news agency than an interactive platform.
This is the case of the page hosted by the United States Embassy.
Very active, this account publishes, figures in support, information on the aid provided by Washington to the various institutions in Lebanon, the Lebanese army in the lead.
The administrators of this page never react to comments from Internet users.
Most Western chancelleries and diplomats maintain a serious and impersonal tone on Twitter.
The representative of the European Union for the Mena region, Luis Miguel Bueno, is the exception that proves the rule.
This diplomat often reacts to comments and gladly accepts corrections made by his followers to his Arabic publications.
أبدأ دائمًا عامًا جديدًا بكتاب جديد 📚.
كتاب هذه المرة من محمد النعاس @naasius من ليبيا.
عنوانه: "خبز على طاولة للخال ميلاد".
شكله ممتاز 👍
وأنتم؟
سنة سعيدة للجميع!
🌸#سنة_جديدة_2023 pic.twitter.com/ZTHXwCfVZp
— Luis Miguel Bueno🇪🇺 (@EUinArabic) January 1, 2023
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