Social media accounts published an image claiming to be a screenshot of a post by Lebanese journalist Dima Sadek on her Instagram account, which includes the text of her resignation from the “MTV” channel.
Kashif verified the image and found it to be fake, and that the resignation statement attributed to journalist Dima Sadek from MTV is fabricated. Upon checking her Instagram account, Kashif did not find the circulated resignation statement.
Kashif also contacted journalist Sadek, who denied the claim of her resignation from MTV and confirmed that it is fake.
The circulation of information regarding Sadek’s resignation came after Lebanese platforms Daraj and Megaphone were subjected to a smear and disinformation campaign, in which MTV channel strongly participated, due to the platforms’ focus on corruption, financial mismanagement, and money laundering in Lebanon.
The campaign began after three Lebanese lawyers submitted a notification to the Public Prosecutor’s Office against Daraj Media, represented by its Editor-in-Chief Hazem Al-Amin and Chairwoman Alia Ibrahim, as well as against the Megaphone platform, represented by its General Manager Jean Kassir and Editor-in-Chief Samer Frangieh, on charges of “undermining the financial status of the state, shaking confidence in the strength of the national currency and state bonds, inciting depositors to withdraw their funds and sell the bonds, stirring sedition, undermining the prestige of the state and national sentiment, and receiving suspicious foreign funds aimed at launching media campaigns that would destabilize confidence in Lebanon.”
Kashif had signed a solidarity statement with the two platforms in light of the orchestrated campaign against them. The statement read:
“We declare our full solidarity with these two pioneering platforms, and our absolute rejection of attempts to silence them. We also call on the concerned Lebanese authorities to take clear measures to confront these defamatory and worrying actions.”
| Sources of claim | Sources of verification |
| ذوالفقار حيدر magazine azhar الجالية اونلاين Beirutcom معصومة جعفر Jamal Badran Babliyati & بابليتي موقع المروانية | journalist Dima Sadek dimasadekofficial |