Staged or Real? CNN Faces Criticism Over Syrian Prisoner Rescue Coverage
CNN recently came under criticism when a broadcast that claimed to have rescued a prisoner in Syria turned out to be false. CNN’s Clarissa Ward and her colleagues stated that the inmate who was first named as Adel Gharbal was a civilian who had been rescued from a secret jail in Damascus.
The broadcast which aired on December 12th featured a guy who identified himself as Adel Gharbal and claimed to be a civilian caught by Mukhabarat intelligence. He said he had been imprisoned for three months and was detained in a cell without food or water for four days before being released by rebel fighters.
However, four days later, the Syrian fact checking website “Verify-sy” reported that the guy was Salama Mohammad Salama who is a lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence known as Abu Hamza. According to Verify-sy’s study, Salama had a well known reputation in Homs for extortion and harassment and he had been imprisoned for less than a month over an extortion issue.
This year’s Golden Globe Award for Best Actor goes to him. pic.twitter.com/fVFMQ043Oj
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) December 16, 2024
In reaction to the discoveries, CNN admitted the misrepresentation about the prisoner’s identification in a December 16 report. The network referenced Verify-sy’s report but said it couldn’t validate the accusations at the time. The article questioned the video’s legitimacy citing Salama’s well-groomed look and clean clothing which contrasted his allegations of being deprived of basic requirements.
Does no one see how problematic—and staged—this is? Shame on you, @clarissaward @CNN, for exploiting Syrian survivors and profiting off the pain of suffering communities. This isn’t journalism; it’s ego-driven sensationalism. cc @NatEnquirer @TheSun #Syria https://t.co/oeayi3OPHn
— Raja Althaibani (allegedly) (@RajaAlthaibani) December 12, 2024