As Lebanon was going through compounding crises, with necessities getting scarcer every day, the government menaced to cancel a decisive parliamentary election due to an absurd reason: a shortage of paper and ink necessary to print election ballots.

In an intentional strategic approach to the challenge, AnNahar, Lebanon’s leading newspaper, decided not to print its February 2nd edition. Instead, the unused paper and ink was sent towards the printing of ballots. Benefitting from limited resources, AnNahar’s creative take on the problem would generate the country’s new symbol of democracy: empty newsstands that speak louder than words.

Lebanon, pushed past the brink of collapse, has been suffering from a historically high inflation that has thrown 75% of its population under the poverty line. Necessities such as food, petrol, medicine and even ink and paper are scarcer every day. Lebanon’s predicament is largely attributed to a political class that has dominated parliamentary elections since the 1990s. A nation in pain hung on to the frail hope that the upcoming election would bring critical stability and pave the way towards change.

In an outrageous and blatant attempt to obstruct the election, officials had complained that shortages of paper and ink needed to print ballots, could cancel the upcoming elections. AnNahar had a historical role in protecting the sanctity of free speech and Lebanon’s fragile democracy. As the newspaper strived to stay true to its essence, it was imperative to prevent the sabotaging of a decisive and long-awaited election.

In Lebanon, the news media always had a pivotal role in key political milestones, and a responsibility that goes far beyond news reporting. AnNahar has historically been at the forefront of it all, striving to protect the sanctity of free speech and the country’s fragile democracy. The newspaper, which had received multiple threats to be forcibly shut down during its 88 years of existence, had even made the ultimate sacrifice for free press to subsist.

Once the number one newspaper across the country, its circulation had been steadily declining. In the wake of the crisis, AnNahar aspired to regain all its relevance by staying true to its essence and standing up for what it believes in. AnNahar could not simply publish about the shortage of paper and ink, it needed an effective approach to prevent the sabotaging of a decisive and long-awaited election.

When word of a shortage of paper and ink got out, AnNahar investigated the issue to uncover the truth. AnNahar’s findings would confirm the reality of a shortage, as well as the government’s convenient and intentional inaction about it. AnNahar, with a responsibility to protect democratic rights, was determined to deliver a solution.

So we started deconstructing the problem. A shortage of paper and ink was hindering our democracy during one of Lebanon’s most critical crises. Paper and ink were what our country needed to maintain the election. To channel people’s pain, anger and resentment into representation and positive change. To quash the government’s excuse to silence people’s voices. We spotted an unmissable opportunity: donate our paper and ink to secure election provisions. We would go paperless so the people can remain voiceful. We would not save ink and paper, we would save democracy.

AnNahar went silent for the first time in its 88 years of existence. On February 2nd, trucks delivered the days’ entire supply of paper and ink to the government’s printing associate, to secure the printing of voting ballots.

With this move, AnNahar would send the Lebanese government a powerful message, that none of their excuses would take away the decisive election.

On February 1st, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief announced a special election issue, coming out the next day.

But that special election issue was never printed. Instead, people walked to the newsstands to find empty racks displaying a single message: The ink and paper intended for today’s edition has been sent towards the printing of voting ballots for the 2022 election. A QR code directed people to the online version of the newspaper, which explained the cause behind the issue that never went to print.

The campaign became one of the most famous newspaper activations in the country's history. Our results exceeded our expectations:

1. To create tangible social change: The government did not mention the shortage of ink and paper once after our campaign launched, with politicians joining in to promote the message. The movement resulting from this added to growing pressure and efforts by various organizations that resulted in the elections taking place on time in May, ushering in a new set of reformist candidates.

2. Increase in engagement: The edition became the most-read digital edition in the newspaper's history, largely through the scanning of QRcodes on empty newstands. The campaign trended at No.1 on Twitter, resulting in a 12% rise in readership numbers heading towards the elections.

3. Earned media: with news channels covering our activation, and even rival newspapers publishing about us, we gained close to $12million dollars of earned media.

Since the last parliamentary elections in 2018, Lebanon has undergone compounding crises: a revolution, a devastating economic collapse, a mismanaged pandemic, and an explosion that killed hundreds. All fingers point at unrelenting corruption, poor governance and impunity.

Lebanon’s physically and emotionally scarred citizens feel governed against their will, held hostage by a system they can no longer condone. The upcoming 2022 election embodies the only faint hope to regain some control over their lives and channel their pain, resentment and anger into representation for a viable path towards real change.

AnNahar has been the voice of the people since 1933 and has had a pivotal role in the key periods of Lebanon’s history. And so, AnNahar would do everything in its power to prevent the sabotaging of a long-awaited and rightful electoral process.

Lebanon is a country where the printed newspaper edition is still widely read, especially when an election looms on the horizon. When word of a shortage of paper and ink for election ballots got out, An-Nahar investigated the issue to uncover the truth. An-Nahar’s findings would confirm the reality of a shortage, as well as the government’s convenient and intentional inaction about it.

We knew that real action would be the more effective tool, more than anything we could express in words to counter this convenient government narrative. So we disrupted the social behavior of the Lebanese newspaper reader who expected to find a previously-announced and much- anticipated Elections Edition on the newsstands.