Racing against rumours: Understanding harmful information on humanitarian needs and response in Lebanon
The Jessrin disctrict, seen from the Saint-Gilles Citadel of Tripoli, Northern Lebanon. Credit: Flickr/Guillaume Flament..
In Lebanon's humanitarian landscape, rumours spread faster than facts, driving people to act first and verify later. This CDAC Network report, written by CDAC Expert Pool member Sarah Kilani, examines how harmful information circulates within Lebanon's aid system, affecting both service delivery and community decisions.
The report ‘Racing against rumours: Understanding harmful information in Lebanon's humanitarian system’, reveals a fragmented information environment where official channels are perceived as inaccessible or slow. On the otherhand, informal networks—WhatsApp groups, religious leaders, former NGO staff—fill the gaps left by institutional silence. Against a backdrop of reduced USAID funding and regional instability, communities face heightened uncertainty that fuels misinformation.
Key findings show that rumours fuel critical decisions about aid access, registration and returns based on unverified information. While communities have developed their own verification practices, these remain disconnected from formal structures. The report argues that timely, trusted communication should be treated as a core protection function, not an afterthought in humanitarian response.
Recommendations from the report
The report identifes that there needs to be three core shifts.
First, we need to reframe communication as a protection function. Timely, trusted information is a core enabler of humanitarian action, protection and access. While some have described this as ‘information as aid,’ its operational value lies in anticipating risk, ensuring informed choice and enabling safe engagement with services.
Second, we must formally integrate community-level verifcation and interpretation into response models. These actors already exist; the challenge is recognising and resourcing them.
Third, institutional communication needs to anticipate political sensitivity, not avoid it. Silence in the face of a rumour is rarely neutral, and information vacuums create space for harmful narratives to harden.
Our recommendations include:
The Government of Lebanon should invest in media literacy and the development of public verifcation systems that help communities assess and respond to information risks.
UN agencies and donors are encouraged to centre this issue at the strategic level, fund collective approaches to narrative monitoring and establish clearer protocols for risk communication.
INGOs and local NGOs are advised to prioritise interactive formats, equip informal gatekeepers and prepare messages that can withstand distortion.
Social media platforms must expand their Arabic moderation efforts and establish partnerships with local fact-checkers.
Community leaders, including those from municipal, religious or social backgrounds, have a critical role in reinforcing facts, surfacing early fears and modelling trust-based information exchange.
This project was funded by the H2H Network’s H2H Fund, which is supported by UK aid - from the British people.