Representation of Iran among Lebanese Twitter Users in the 2022 Lebanese Parliamentary Election

Understanding how countries are perceived, especially in the field of political communication, is very important and needs to examine the factors that shape the image of a country. The purpose of this research is to explain the representation and false beliefs and at the same time provide an insight into the views of the Lebanese society regarding Iran. This research seeks to answer the basic question of how Iran was represented in Lebanon's cyber space during the country's parliamentary elections in 2022, and what implications these representations have for Iran's position in Lebanon's socio-cultural and foreign policy environment. The research method in the current study was qualitative and text mining method, but the data analysis method in this research was thematic analysis method. It is worth noting that the method of data collection in this research was through the Twitter API and using keywords related to Iran during May 2022, i.e. two weeks before and two weeks after the Lebanese parliamentary elections. After analyzing the data, 5 overarching themes were obtained, which are actually the "components and elements of Iran's representation among Lebanese Twitter users in the 2022 Lebanese parliamentary elections". Some Lebanese users highlighted Iran as a permanent and benevolent supporter of Lebanon and other countries in the region and its power components. On the other hand, other users have represented Iran as a country with special political connections and high influence in the region, as well as a country with internal problems. In addition, the results of the theme analysis showed that users have reacted to Iran's various events and news by continuously monitoring them, which is a sign of their sensitivity regarding the issue of Iran.