Social Media Exchange
{{Short description|Lebanese non-governmental organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Social Media Exchange (SMEX)
| type = non-governmental organization
| focus = Defending and advancing digital rights
| key_people = Mohamad Najem
| footnotes =
| founded_date = 2008
| area_served = Arab world
| num_employees =
| subsid =
| homepage = [https://smex.org smex.org]
}}
SMEX (formerly Social Media Exchange) is a Lebanese non-governmental organization based in Beirut with a mission to advocate for digital rights in the Arab world.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-13 |title=2021 HRP Summer Fellow Reflection: Amre Metwally JD'22 |url=https://hrp.law.harvard.edu/fellowships/2021-hrp-summer-fellow-reflection-amre-metwally-jd22/ |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Human Rights @ Harvard Law |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Everything Middle East dissidents and journalists need to know about Mastodon |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/mastodon-twitter-alternative-everything-need-know |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}} It is based in Beirut.{{Cite web |last=Belanger |first=Ashley |date=2023-01-06 |title=Wikipedia admin jailed for 32 years after alleged Saudi spy infiltration |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/01/wikipedia-admin-jailed-for-32-years-after-alleged-saudi-spy-infiltration/ |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}} Its executive director is Mohamad Najem.{{Cite web |title='All that work is at risk': Fear of Twitter collapse leaves Arab activists scrambling |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/twitter-collapse-fear-arab-activists-scrambling |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}} SMEX was established in 2008 as Social Media Exchange.{{Cite web |title=Social Media Exchange (SMEX) |url=https://www.annalindhfoundation.org/members/social-media-exchange-smex |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=www.annalindhfoundation.org |language=en}}
Bread & Net
Bread & Net is an annual unconference that has been held by SMEX in Beirut since 2018 that brings together activists, technologists, policy-makers, and others to discuss global and regional digital rights and other human rights.{{Cite web |last=Chennoufi |first=Emna Sayadi, Wafa Ben-Hassine, Nikki Gladstone, Mohamed |date=2018-11-30 |title=Reflections on Bread&Net: The growing importance of digital rights activism in the MENA region |url=https://www.accessnow.org/reflections-on-bread-and-net/ |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=Access Now |language=en-US}}