The government abandoned the tax after protesters paralyzed the country, forcing banks and schools to close. The massive outpouring was sparked by a proposed tax on calls made through Internet services such as WhatsApp. Since October, Lebanese citizens have gathered to protest around the country, uniting across party and sectarian lines against an entrenched political oligarchy that protesters say has made fortunes mostly from government funds at the expense of the country.

In Lebanon, cyberspace is the new battle ground between protesters and the security services that have increased measures to curb dissent, intimidating and arresting government critics for online speech. New podcasts documenting corruption launched with the protest movement. Activists turned to social media platforms to get out their message, streaming protests live on Twitter and highlighting police abuse on Instagram. Open the WhatsApp Message containing suspicious link and copy the link.Lebanese anti-government protesters use the light on their mobile phones during a demonstration in downtown Beirut in November. Check WhatsApp Link Using Norton Safe WebĪnother reputable free source that can be used to check URLs is provided by Norton, which is a well-known security software provider.ġ. The link is safe to open if Google comes up with a Green check mark reading “No unsafe Content found” and potentially harmful or dangerous to open, if it comes up with Red check mark.ģ. Go to Google Transparency Report website > paste the link in the search bar and tap on the Search icon. Open WhatsApp Message containing suspicious link and copy the link.Ģ. Google routinely examines billions of URLs per day looking for unsafe websites and makes this information available to public on its website (Google Transparency Report).ġ. Check WhatsApp Link Using Google Transparency Report While URL shortening services are provided by reputed sources, they can be used by spammers and hackers to redirect users to suspicious or dangerous websites.Īlso, it is known fact that banks, government and other legitimate sources do not shorten their URL.

In case of known Contacts, any URL that contains special characters or a shortened URL is to be regarded as suspicious. In general, it is good security practice not to open any attachment or link in a WhatsApp Message received from anyone that you cannot or do not recognize.

Is whatsapp safe from government