Estimated Annual Media Expenditure

Executive Summary

This report estimates Hezbollah’s annual media expenditure for Fiscal Year 2024—covering both its legacy media infrastructure (television, radio, print, and legacy digital) and its new media operations (social media, influence operations, gaming, and training camps). We only cover expenditures in this report, despite minimal ad revenue for some outlets discussed. Our estimates are built from unit-level cost assumptions multiplied by assumed quantities per outlet. For this report, we also benchmarked relevant media outlets (Al-Manar) and operations to similar international media outlets to validate our assumptions. Figures rely on research-grounded best estimates and open-source intelligence (OSINT) where available. We strive to provide as accurate a picture as possible based on the available information.

CENTEF has examined Hezbollah as a business entity, using traditional financial analysis to create
financial reports about the terror organization. This is the first report amongst a series of publications to better understand Hezbollah’s financial health and obtain better insights into its annual budget. While we strive for valid assumptions, we recognize that a precise picture is difficult. These figures, our best estimates, should be regarded as approximations to provide a general picture of Hezbollah’s fiscal status. Our report relies on both expertise and AI to arrive at final figures.

PART 1: LEGACY MEDIA

Background: Hezbollah’s Legacy Media Outlets¹

Hezbollah owns and controls several important media outlets in Lebanon, with the most important being Al-Manar, an international cable news network. Both Al-Manar and Al Nour, Hezbollah’s marquee radio station, are designated by the U.S. and E.U. as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions or dealings with the SDGT. For a media company, this means U.S. advertisers cannot buy ad space, U.S. news agencies cannot pay for its content, and U.S. technology firms cannot provide software or hosting services.

In addition to these central outlets, Hezbollah has several smaller radio stations, newspapers, and websites that serve as a propaganda arm for the terror group to disseminate its information to its supporters and international audiences. Media is a critical tool of Hezbollah to spread its ideology and rally support amongst Lebanese Shiites. Below is a short synopsis on each outlet:

• Al-Manar TV: Hezbollah’s flagship 24/7 television station, broadcasting globally in four languages (Arabic, English, French, and Spanish) to an audience of tens of millions. One of the largest non-state media operations in the Middle East, employing several hundred staff to produce news, documentaries, and psychological-warfare content. Designated as a terrorist entity by the United States Treasury in 2006. Al-Manar likely has foreign correspondents around the Arab world, with known reporters in Gaza and Ramallah.
• Al-Nour Radio: Established in 1988, Hezbollah’s primary radio station provides high-coverage FM broadcasts across Lebanon, northern Palestine, and the Syrian coast. It was designated as a terrorist entity by the U.S Treasury in 2006.
• Al-Ahed News: Formerly a weekly newspaper, Al-Ahed is now Hezbollah’s official digital news hub, providing real-time updates and ideological content in multiple languages. While it has not been designated by name, its parent company, Lebanese Media Group, has been designated.
• Baqiyyatullah Magazine: Monthly Arabic-language publication focused on Islamic thought and the group’s “resistance” narratives, with a circulation of roughly 10,000–15,000 copies.
• Al-Muqawama Website: Digital centerpiece for the “Islamic Resistance,” serving as the authoritative record for leadership speeches, military documentation, and “martyr” biographies.

Other Legacy Media: Includes the newspaper Al-Intiqad, local stations Al-Islam Radio and Sawt al-Mustadafin, and various niche community outlets and websites.

Note: While not officially owned by Hezbollah, Al Akhbar (newspaper) and Al Mayadeen (cable news) are closely aligned and are rumored to take direction from Hezbollah, reflecting a non-cash benefit. This report only covers expenditures in proper accounting methodology, but we note this benefit to Hezbollah’s media apparatus.

Standard Unit Cost Assumptions – Legacy Media

Labor

• Junior staff (reporters, technicians, admin): $7,200/year ($600/month)²
• Senior staff (editors, engineers, managers): $14,400/year ($1,200/month)

Broadcast & Facilities

• Satellite transponder lease: $1.0M per satellite / year
• TV studio (operations, power, maintenance): $250,000 per studio / year
• Radio studio: $120,000 per studio / year
• FM transmission tower (ops + maintenance): $300,000 per station / year
• Office space, utilities, generators: $150,000 per outlet / year

Equipment & IT

• TV field production kit (camera, audio, editing): $40,000 per team / year (amortized)
• Radio production equipment: $60,000 per station / year
• IT systems, software licenses, newsroom tools: $80,000 per outlet / year
• Hosting, content delivery networks, cybersecurity: $120,000 per digital outlet / year

1. Al-Manar TV

2. Al-Nour Radio

3. Al-Ahed (Online News)

4. Baqiyyatullah Magazine

5. Al-Muqawama Website

6. Other Small Legacy Outlets (Combined)

Assumed scale: ~75 staff; shared infrastructure. Includes Al-Intiqad newspaper, Al-Islam Radio, Sawt al-Mustadafin, and niche community websites.

Aggregate Legacy Media Expenditure

Part 2: New Media

Hezbollah’s New Media Operations

Hezbollah also heavily relies on asymmetrical information warfare in the new media arena. The terror group is active on social media, including somewhat on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), and heavily on Telegram and WhatsApp. Hezbollah has a dedicated unit, the Media Relations Unit, dedicated to disseminating propaganda in both legacy and new media. Hezbollah has even developed video games to spread its messaging and trained foreign operatives in disinformation campaigns.

• Hezbollah’s Media Relations Unit (MRU), including SIMIA: The MRU functions as Hezbollah’s central communications hub, directing messaging, producing multimedia content, and coordinating dissemination across all platforms. This unit is akin to a conventional army’s spokesperson’s unit. Additionally, as part of Hezbollah’s Electronic Army Unit, the SIMIA sub-unit—approximately 100 operators—runs coordinated influence campaigns, bot networks, and social-media brigading. This unit runs Telegram channels, social media accounts, and pushes coordinated messaging.⁴
• Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Other Social Media: After account removals on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), Hezbollah now relies heavily on Telegram and WhatsApp. These channels serve as primary distribution nodes for daily propaganda and synchronized messaging.
• Video Games and Interactive Content: Hezbollah has produced a series of low-cost, ideologically driven video games targeting youth audiences and reinforcing resistance narratives. Between 2013-2016, Hezbollah produced over a dozen video games aiming to indoctrinate Lebanese children.⁵
• Disinformation Training Camps: Since approximately 2012, Hezbollah has operated 10-day media training camps in Beirut that teach participants how to build fake profiles, manipulate images and video, and coordinate multi-account posting. Trainees come from around the region and pay for the course, representing a profitable business venture for Hezbollah. These participants go back to their home countries and continue assisting Hezbollah in addition to training others.⁶

Standard Unit Cost Assumptions – New Media

Labor

• Junior staff (reporters, technicians, admin): $7,200/year ($600/month)⁷
• Senior staff (editors, engineers, managers): $14,400/year ($1,200/month)

Equipment & Devices

• Smartphones: $200 per low-cost device
• Laptops/computers: $350–$500 per unit
• Cameras (field photographers): $350 per device

Infrastructure / Miscellaneous

• Office space & utilities: $80–$150K/year across all new-media ops
• Connectivity costs (broadband, mobile packages): $30K–$60K/year
• Security/operational overhead (VPNs, proxies, mirror hosting): $40K–$80K/year

Media Relations Unit (MRU) + SIMIA

Field Photographers⁸

Game & Interactive Content Development

Telegram / WhatsApp Channel Operations

Note: Content creation labor is captured under MRU/SIMIA.

Disinformation Training Camps and Operations

Note: Trainer labor is provided by MRU/SIMIA personnel already accounted for, and this section reflects expenditures. Incomes from these camps will be reflected in a different report.

Consolidated New Media Expenditure

Combined Media Expenditure Summary

Additional Reading

• Congressional Research Service. (2019). Hezbollah: Background and issues for Congress (CRS Report No. R44759). https://crsreports.congress.gov
• Counter Extremism Project. (2024). Hezbollah profile. https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/hezbollah
• Jovany, S. (2022, September 4). Hizballah’s narrative in the service of legitimizing military action. Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. https://dayan.org/content/hizballahs-narrative-service-legitimizing-military-action
• Levitt, M. (2013). Hezbollah: The global footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God. Georgetown University Press.
• Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. (2019). Hezbollah’s media empire. https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/hezbollahs-media-empire/
• Meta. (2019, October 21). Removing more coordinated inauthentic behavior from Iran and Russia. https://about.fb.com/news/2019/10/removing-more-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-from-iran-and-russia/
• Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). (2018–2024). Various reports on Hezbollah media. https://www.memri.org
• Sherwood, H. (2020, August 2). Exclusive: Inside Hezbollah’s fake news training camps sowing discord in the Middle East. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/08/02/exclusive-inside-hezbollahs-fake-news-training-camps-sowing/
• U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2006, March 23). Treasury designates Al-Manar as a specially designated global terrorist entity [Press release]. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/js4134
• U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control. (2006). Al-Nour Radio – OFAC designation. https://ofac.treasury.gov
• Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (2023). U.S. sanctions are hurting Hezbollah. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/us-sanctions-are-hurting-hezbollah

This report is a CENTEF analytical product. All estimates are for research and discussion purposes. CENTEF makes no representation that these figures are audited or certified.