961 is home to everything news and engaging content catered to the Lebanese audience.
961 has become the leading English news and media outlet catered to the Lebanese audience.
961 develops and presents news/stories in an engaging and easily-consumable manner.
961 we’re digitizing Lebanese culture, heritage, and history all while entertaining you on 961 platforms.
We’re an independent media outlet aimed at providing a reliable alternative to the politically-backed, owned, and affiliated media outlets in Lebanon (which currently make up 80% of all outlets) through 961News.
Our Story
961 was initially launched in the summer of 2016 as a humble blog aimed at keeping the Lebanese diaspora, an estimated 20-30 million Lebanese descendants, up-to-date with everything in Lebanon. Till today, 961 is very involved and integrated within the Lebanese communities around the world – working with business and political leaders to promote Lebanon and its interests.
Since then, we quickly evolved to cover breaking news, local daily news, first to break international news and stories, light-hearted content, magazine stories and much more. 961News covers social issues, developed a fact check section and an Explained series making complex topics more accessible. In addition, we launched a dedicated COVID-19 section offering extensive news coverage, the first live tracker in Lebanon, and WHO-verified information and resources to reduce the spread – as well as supplying the Ministry of Information with reliable content.
About the Founder
961 was launched and is fully owned by Anthony Kantara, a serial entrepreneur with multiple businesses in the fields of digital marketing, eCommerce, advertising, media, real estate, and finance.
Core Beliefs & Stances
As over 80% of the media outlets in Lebanon are politically controlled or linked, our core mission is to decentralize the control of information and counter/limit their heavily-funded propaganda machines – one view at a time.
961 is an independent media company. We have no political affiliations or backing.
We aim to present our news coverage in a factual manner.
Although independent, 961 is not neutral and speaks out against oppression, human rights abuses, abuses of power, corruption, and the undermining of Lebanese sovereignty and its people.
We are anti-colonial (militarily, politically, and culturally).
961 does not recognize the Lebanese people as being of any other identity other than being Lebanese, first. We are against any labelling as “Arab” or “Western.” It is part of our core belief that this can responsibly lead to national unity among all Lebanese where we default to being Lebanese before any sect or regional identity and influence.
We recognize present-day Lebanese as the descendants of the Canaanite and Phoenician people.
961 is an equal opportunity company that is against any sort of discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, religion, age, family status, or sexual orientation. We aim to prevent any sort of discrimination in our hiring process and in our editorial.
Although the current Lebanese laws don’t, 961 recognizes children born to Lebanese mothers and non-Lebanese fathers as Lebanese – whether they are in Lebanon or abroad. This will be reflected in our coverage of this topic.
All content found on 961 and its online properties are protected under copyright laws and may be available for licensing. Information about the organization, including this page and all others, found on this website (with the exception of articles and multimedia) may not be reproduced and republished without prior authorization required.