On July 10, 2025, TV host Marcel Ghanem hosted Lebanese Forces party leader Samir Geagea on his show Sar el Wa’et on MTV. During and after the episode, the LF, through party officials and supporters, launched the hashtag #كلام_حكيم (Wise Words) to amplify Geagea’s statements and highlight his criticisms of Hezbollah and its Secretary-General Naim Qassem, as well as his criticisms of Gebran Bassil of the Free Patriotic Movement, the rival of the Lebanese Forces.

This prompted FPM supporters to respond with the hashtag #صار_الوقت_للجعجعه (Time for Nonsense).

Spread of the hashtags

Both hashtags, #كلام_حكيم (Wise Words) and #صار_الوقت_للجعجعه (Time for Nonsense), gained wide circulation and high engagement, sparking an online war between the two parties. The clash was ignited by Geagea when he said that the Free Patriotic Movement are full of lies.

The hashtag “Wise Words” appeared in 22,600 posts, generating around 33,000 interactions. In contrast, “Time for Nonsense” was used in 1,300 posts, receiving 3,300 interactions.

Several prominent LF supporters helped promote the hashtag #كلام_حكيم (Wise Words). Among them was activist Raymond Hakim, who has more than 150,000 followers. Party figures also took part, including Josie Hanna, head of the LF’s Electronic Meetings Office, LF official Charbel Eid, and LF Member of Parliament Razi El Hage.

On the other side, FPM supporters engaged with the hashtag #صار_الوقت_للجعجعه (Time for Nonsense) to respond to criticism of their party leader, Gebran Bassil, following Geagea’s attacks on him. Key participants included Jean Pierre, Myrna Jaha, Kiki Semaan, Dimitri Trad, and Jay Lahoud.

These accounts had previously taken part in FPM-aligned digital campaigns, such as the hashtag #محتلين_بتياب_نازحين (Occupiers in Refugee Clothes), which was analyzed by Arabi Facts Hub and found to contain hate speech targeting Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

For the full report, click here.

Coordinated incitement

The majority of posts under the hashtag #كلام_حكيم (Wise Words) centered on amplifying Geagea’s statements about Hezbollah, the need to disarm it, and his criticism of the FPM.

In contrast, the hashtag #صار_الوقت_للجعجعه (Time for Nonsense) included attacks on Syrian refugees, with some participants claiming that Samir Geagea and the LF played a role in bringing them into Lebanon.

Others on the hashtag described Geagea as an ISIS supporter, an advocate for the resettlement of refugees, as well as a Zionist agent.

The majority of posts under the hashtag #كلام_حكيم (Wise Words) came from Lebanon, followed by Australia and the United States.

Meanwhile, interaction under the hashtag #صار_الوقت_للجعجعه (Time for Nonsense) was concentrated primarily in Lebanon, with no notable external participation.

Who launched the hashtags

The hashtag #كلام_حكيم (Wise Words) first appeared on July 7, 2025, when Geagea made several statements regarding diaspora voting in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The official LF account on X posted the party’s stance in the form of images but did not use the hashtag. It was LF supporters who initiated its use, circulating Geagea’s statements and the visuals prepared by the party’s media team under this hashtag. Some of the first accounts to use this media were @ToniWrizk, @gizelehanna, and @tabet_joyce — all belonging to genuine LF supporters.

In addition, anonymous accounts participated in increasing engagement on the hashtag “Wise Words”. Among those was the account "الأمر لي" (“It is all up to me”), @961LForces, and lauran293353136. These accounts have fake names and feature images of Samir Geagea, or AI-generated images, such is the case for “'laura n”.

In contrast to “Wise Words”, most of the participants on “Time for Nonsense” were well-recognized FPM supporters, rather than anonymous or fake accounts. As mentioned previously, some of these accounts participated in coordinated incitement campaigns against Syrian refugees in Lebanon.