MSM using children in Western information campaign against Syria

[hashtag4]

MSM using children in Western information campaign against Syria – RT report
https://www.rt.com/news/370365-aleppo-children-tools-war/

"Heartbreaking stories of children in the Aleppo warzone seem to be a useful tool in the mainstream media campaign against Syria and Russia.

Bana al-Abed, aged 7, is one such medium
Why is Bana’s family is always headed for the hottest spots in besieged Aleppo, instead of evacuating, and why despite the understandably faltering internet connection in the city, Bana’s account was somehow tweeting, and posting videos?"


Doubts raised over Aleppo girl Bana al-Abed’s Twitter account
https://www.rt.com/viral/369693-bana-alabed-doubts-raised/
"The Twitter account of seven-year-old Syrian girl Bana al-Abed, who became a symbol of the Syrian conflict, with some dubbing her the ‘Anne Frank of Syria,’ has fallen subject to suspicions over its authenticity."

 

[hashtag4]

Which reminded me of a controversial discussion which took place in the GB a few weeks ago.

As heartbreaking as these stories and pictures are, shouldn't we also pay attention first at the source or the newssites who push them (and whose primary interest often conflicts with the interest of these potential victims and children)?

 

[about_average]

Maybe they're taking lessons from the fake news sources.
Using random children's photos from the internet, and photos of the owner's children, made pizzagate "real".

 

[hashtag4]

Maybe they're taking lessons from the fake news sources.
Using random children's photos from the internet, and photos of the owner's children, made pizzagate "real".

Indeed.

These sort of journalistic practices are hardly news to many. A large chunk of them are doing it, be they of a conservative or liberal leaning, or whether they're subserviant to the russian or american oligarchy.

These are interesting and explosive articles, nevertheless.

 

[hashtag4]

As a follow-up on that. RT's most recent article:


Credible or fake? Journalists clash in fiery RT debate on news sources in Syria (VIDEO)
https://www.rt.com/news/370581-syria-news-sources-debate/


Bartlett recently made headlines during a press conference after she accused corporate media of a biased agenda in Syria, labeling a large chunk of its sources as either “not credible” or “compromised.”

According to Bartlett, the mainstream media effectively reported information which was “opposite” to what actually happened on the ground.
In particular the journalist, who herself visited Syria, lashed out at the organization of White Helmets.

Dilly Hussain challenged her views during the RT debate, claiming Bartlett’s narrative echoed “state propaganda.”

"Here is the full video of the heated verbal exchange:
' Journalists face off over Syria news sources in RT debate"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3JFEmCKHVME

 

[Queertag45]

Geee, lookie lookie who is talking about children again.

 

[phrodeau]

RT = Russia Today. Funded by the Kremlin.

 

[hashtag4]

RT = Russia Today. Funded by the Kremlin.

Thanks for pointing out to the obvious.

But if you noticed, the whistleblower (Bartlett) is canadian.

 

[phrodeau]

RT is a legitimate news source on a number of topics, but I wouldn't credit it for anything to do with Syria.

 

[hashtag4]

RT is a legitimate news source on a number of topics, but I wouldn't credit it for anything to do with Syria.

You're right about that (I wouldn't credit any american or russian source on that) but the source quoted (Eva Bartlett, canadian investigative journalist) surely seems credible.
- And she's not the only one who wondered about the authenticity of Aleppo's "Ann Frank" - the girl who kept tweeting (with full uninterrupted access to internet as in 24/7 ?) from the most dangerous and delapidated war zones.

For me, the article seems to be more about the decline in true investigative journalism nowadays (regardless of their political affiliations).

About the fact that
- journalists have decided to be instruments of propaganda and manipulation of public's opinion, in the service of one oligarchy or another
- and about the fact that real investigative journalism appears to have gradually died out. A lot of pieces of news are either about plagiarizing other sources, or about working on people's emotions with faux news such as the above.

 

[phrodeau]

You're right about that (I wouldn't credit any american or russian source on that) but the source quoted (Eva Bartlett, canadian investigative journalist) surely seems credible.
- And she's not the only one who wondered about the authenticity of Aleppo's "Ann Frank" - the girl who kept tweeting (with full uninterrupted access to internet as in 24/7 ?) from the most dangerous and delapidated war zones.

For me, the article seems to be more about the decline in true investigative journalism nowadays (regardless of their political affiliations).

About the fact that
- journalists have decided to be instruments of propaganda and manipulation of public's opinion, in the service of one oligarchy or another
- and about the fact that real investigative journalism appears to have gradually died out. A lot of pieces of news are either about plagiarizing other sources, or about working on people's emotions with faux news such as the above.

About that credibility of Eva Bartlett, read on: http://www.snopes.com/syrian-war-victims-are-being-recycled-and-al-quds-hospital-was-never-bombed/

 

[renard_ruse]

Why we're not celebrating the liberation of Aleppo from the terrorist "rebels" who are the ones responsible for the war and the continuation of the violence. Now there is chance to actually end this horrible war that the US and western Europe started by stirring up the rebellion in the first place. The fall of Aleppo is the best thing for the children in Syria in the past 6 years.

 

[renard_ruse]

President Assad gives the real truth about Aleppo and the Syrian situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgl6qb8Z_0

 

[Christobal]

When has the press ever passed on .......

What about the children?

It's an easy go to every time. No thought involved.

 

[renard_ruse]

Assad always sounds like such a kind and thoughtful man, soft spoken and reflective but tough as nails at the same time. I like the man.

 

[Hard_Rom]

Dispelling allegations of the Bana ‘myth’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-prompts-a-fact-check/?utm_term=.d12d0f37e0bf

Online, critics asked how a 7-year-old was able to speak English so well or why her family still had power despite the frequent blackouts in Aleppo. In an interview, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad suggested that her Twitter account was a “game” and “propaganda.” Anonymous online trolls soon attacked Bana and her mother, Fatemah, setting up fake accounts in an attempt to discredit and mock her.

The resulting investigation, written by former British army soldier Nick Waters with the aid of image analyst Timmi Allen, was published Wednesday afternoon. It offers an exhaustive look at the various aspects of Bana's life that her critics say don't add up; running to almost 3,000 words, with extensive use of pictures, maps and diagrams.

Her videos posted on Periscope and Twitter quite clearly show her neighborhood, which can be geolocated using satellite imagery to east Aleppo. Her English is too good for a 7-year-old? Her account notes that her mother, an English speaker who has studied journalism, writes a majority of the tweets (many of which are clearly signed “Fatemah” or “Bana mom”) and helps her child with the rest. She shouldn't have electricity if she is living through a siege? The family has solar panels on their house that charge a battery used to power phones. Waters and Allen were also able to find satellite imagery that supports the claims that Bana's family home was bombed on Nov. 27. They note that the neighborhood fell to the Syrian army Dec. 4, after which the account was temporarily deleted and has only posted sporadically afterward — probably as a result of legitimate concerns that the family could be targeted by forces loyal to Assad.

“By far the most likely scenario is that @AlabedBana is an account run by Fatemah which tells the story of her daughter, a young child in East Aleppo,” the Bellingcat authors conclude. While noting that there are obviously moments where the account has posted explicitly political and even rash messages, the attempts to discredit her “verged into the ludicrous.”

 

[thør]

Interesting

 

[hashtag4]

About that credibility of Eva Bartlett, read on: http://www.snopes.com/syrian-war-victims-are-being-recycled-and-al-quds-hospital-was-never-bombed/

Interesting… . She has an anglicised name, but I see that she looks middle eastern and that she has a journalistic interest in the Middle East.

Assad always sounds like such a kind and thoughtful man, soft spoken and reflective but tough as nails at the same time. I like the man.

I was impressed too.

So far I only listened to a small part of the clip, but I was struck by his take on those who joined the ranks of terrorists (human beings with different motivations, some worse or better than the others, some more humane or more psychopathic than the others).
No black and white "bad terrorists" versus "white knight liberators" as seen in the discourses of the russian and american massmedia and presidents.