Syria’s White Helmets targeted by Russian disinformation

[TomSea]

Syria’s White Helmets targeted by Russian disinformation
By Louisa Loveluck | Washington Post

BEIRUT – A Russian disinformation campaign has pushed Syria’s best-known civilian rescue group into the crosshairs of President Bashar Assad’s security forces, turning its volunteers into hunted prey, according to a team of open-source researchers and the organization itself.

With the help of Western funding, the Syrian Civil Defense group – more commonly known as the White Helmets – has rescued tens of thousands of civilians from the rubble of Syrian and Russian airstrikes.

More than 250 volunteers have been killed in the course of that duty, the group’s founder says, while harrowing footage of their missions has often been picked up by international media and broadcast around the world.

Read more at: https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12/18/syrias-white-helmets-targeted-by-russian-disinformation/

From the report itself:

Chemical Weapons and Absurdity: The Disinformation Campaign Against the White Helmets - bellingcat
By Bellingcat Investigation Team

A joint report in collaboration with Newsy

The Syrian Civil Defence (SCD), also known as the White Helmets, is a search-and-rescue organisation based in opposition-held areas. They have recorded some of the worst atrocities carried out in Syria and provided vital evidence of gross human rights abuses by the Syrian government and the Russian military. This has made them the target of a significant disinformation campaign attempting to smear them as “terrorists,” with some pro-government supporters claiming they are “legitimate targets.”

During mid-2018 this disinformation campaign appears to have focused on attempting to associate the SCD with chemical attacks in Idlib. From August to November of this year, the Russian and Syrian governments and state-controlled media continually repeated narratives involving the SCD and movement, or use of, chemical weapons around rebel-held areas of north-western Syria, primarily Idlib. This article will examine the accusations made against the SCD in Idlib and assess the evidence provided. The information we collected can be found here.

It should be noted that no reputable body has ever found that SCD was involved in any chemical incidents in Syria in any capacity other than as first responders to attacks. However, the Syrian government has been identified as the perpetrator in 23 Chlorine and Sarin attacks and has likely been involved in many more.  Both Russia and Syria have a dubious reputation for factual reporting on the issue of chemical weapons due to their accusations of vast international conspiracies, use of doctored satellite images and tendency to present videos and images from computer games as evidence.



Read more at: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/12/18/chemical-weapons-and-absurdity-the-disinformation-campaign-against-the-white-helmets/

[LucasWhite]

Oh sure, the white helmets have no political motives whatsoever.  The Jewish media tells us so.