A passionate writer reflects his society

Najib Mitri is a blogger who founded the Lebanese blog "Blog Baladi" together with two friends – reporting on non-political issues related to the Lebanese society, lifestyle, events and reviews. 

"We were three friends who started the blog "Blog Baladi" (blog of my country). There weren’t any blogs in Lebanon and there was not much information on things we encounter in our everyday life. So we thought we would shed some light on positive issues and our experiences. It is important to have such a blog because the media in Lebanon is very politicized and is funded by political parties. So blogs are like a platform for people to express themselves and to differentiate themselves from the mainstream media. I have gotten my share of hateful messages, sure. Overall, I do tackle issues that are controversial. I never really looked at blogs as competing with the mainstream media. For me, most blogs are driven by passionate writers."

The #speakup barometer is a DW Akademie project that examines the connection between digital participation, freedom of expression and access to information. Learn more at www.dw.com/barometer