“I envision a world where the responsibility of exposing, acknowledging, and condemning injustice is not placed on the shoulders of the most marginalized individuals.”

Jean Kassir is a political organizer and media professional. He is the cofounder and managing director of Megaphone, a Beirut-based independent digital media publication that focuses on issues affecting marginalized communities, including gender-based violence, structural racism, and environmental crimes. Megaphone’s work provides alternative political coverage for young Arab audiences who feel alienated by mainstream partisan media and are eager to interact with critical and uncompromising journalism.

Since 2011, Jean has been involved as a political organizer in many campaigns and collectives that have mobilized against Lebanon’s political establishment. Starting at university, he held leadership positions with the AUB Secular Club, a progressive anti-sectarian organization that led protests against steep increases in tuition fees. In 2017, he cofounded the Mada Network, Lebanon’s first youth-led political network, which provides an infrastructure for youth to be involved in the country’s political life. He also contributed to cofounding the municipal elections campaign “Beirut Madinati” (“Beirut My City”), which aimed to reclaim Beirut’s municipal council. The campaign garnered 40% of the total votes, a result that was unprecedented for any anti-establishment movement. Following Lebanon’s 2019 uprising, Megaphone’s coverage of daily protests helped it grow to become one of Lebanon’s leading digital news outlets, particularly among the youth.

Jean’s work in political organizing focuses on developing robust political and social infrastructures that sustain generations of activists and leverage popular grievances for political impact. His work in independent media challenges narratives propagated by mainstream outlets and the political establishment, and aims to shift public conversations about issues that matter to people’s livelihoods. He believes that disrupting persistent inequality in the world requires a radical political imagination and subversive tools that create impactful political structures, as well as an innovative and bold media that holds those in power accountable and centers the conversation on the impact of politics on people’s lives.