How Clubhouse is encouraging dialogue in Lebanon among citizens and politicians

The voice chat app has become a way for people in the country to connect and engage Audio-only app Clubhouse has allowed people in Lebanon to connect amid the pandemic and multiple crises. Getty Images For many Lebanese iPhone users, a digital invite is the only thing standing between them and a world of dialogue. Welcome to Clubhouse, where, once you’re off the waitlist and on the exclusive voice chat app, you’re faced with a plethora of rooms that are open to all, no knocks or keys required. In every room, users find themselves lost in a sea of names and profile pictures, everyone patiently waiting for their turn to speak. Why Clubhouse? The audio, invite and iOS-only application was initially launched in April 2020 by entrepreneur Paul Davison and former Google engineer Rohan Seth, and was valued at nearly $100 million merely one month later. Now, it’s worth about $1 billion. It grew exponentially in February, following a talk on the app by Tesla boss Elon Musk, going from three to five million users “almost overnight”, according to Wired. Among those enthusiastically using the app are the Lebanese, who have not shied away from jumping on the bandwagon, downloading…
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