Controversial issues are common in Lebanon, in the environmental, political, economic, social or other fields. Different media outlets continuously try to leak contradictory news, some attributed to known sources while others to anonymous ones, with the purpose of “supporting the facts” that they publish and which often contradict other facts attributed to other sources.

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to research the importance of the sources in the performance of the Lebanese media and the impact on accuracy of news that may shape the public opinion and influence the democratic process.

The study will then try to answer the following questions:

- How do the Lebanese media deal with sources according to the above-mentioned articles of the pact?

- To what extent are the media committed to attributing the material they publish to the sources of their information?

- What are the different kinds of sources of information and to what degree are they accurate?

- To what extent do journalists verify the information directly from the original source and cross-check it with other sources?

- How professional are the media outlets in dealing with their sources of information and reacting to the challenges they face when they collect information?

- To what extent are the electronic media committed to respecting copyrights when mentioning the source of the news or attributing a picture to its original source?

The study at Maharat Foundation was prepared by: Ali Rammal, PhD Mr. Tony Mikhael and Reviewed by, George Sadaka, PhD.

To read the full study click here.