Intentionally misleading or participating in a social media challenge?

At the moment it seems to be popular to “expose” so-called White Helmet fakes in order to discredit the work of the Syrian White Helmets. The White Helmets were the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2016 , which recognizes their commitment to human rights, and they were also nominated Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 The alleged fakes are mostly “exposed” by pro-Russian and pro-Assad sites.

That's why we're currently receiving inquiries about a number of (some of them quite "old") pictures and collages. So also about this and similar picture collages:

clip_image001

Screenshot: Facebook

Image caption in plain text:

When you're dying in a false flag sarin gas attack
but you also need to post a new pic for your Instagram followers

When you die in a false flag sarin gas attack and at the same time have to post a picture for your followers on Instagram.

clip_image002

Screenshot: Facebook

So what are we seeing here?

Some members of the Syrian Civil Defense, aka the Syrian White Helmets, made a staged video in 2016 to draw attention to their work in the West. They were filmed by the opposition group Revolutionary Forces of Syria (RFS), in a style based on the #mannequinchallenge .

Unfortunately, the short film “On the edge of death” was misused shortly after its release, as the RFS makes clear . quickly regretted their participation in this video shoot , as the video was and is being used to question their work as a whole.

clip_image004
Explanation in plain text:

This video and the related posts were recorded by RFS media with Syria Civil Defense (White Helmets) volunteers, who hoped to create a connection between the horror of Syria and the outside world using the viral “Mannequin challenge”. This was an error of judgment, and we apologize on behalf of the volunteers involved.

The video was not shared via on our official channels and we took immediate action to discipline those involved and prevent incidents such as this from happening again.

Our volunteers are committed to saving lives by responding to, and reporting, war crimes in Syria. This leaves us open to attacks, not just from the bombs but from those who seek to silence us for telling the truth. We will continue our work and refuse to be intimidated by those who have a vested interest in undermining humanitarian groups like ours.

This video and accompanying posts were recorded by RFS media with Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) volunteers who sought to connect the horrors of Syria and the outside world with the viral “Mannequin Challenge.” This was an error in judgment and we apologize on behalf of the volunteers involved.

The video was not distributed through our official channels and we took immediate action to discipline those involved and prevent such incidents from happening again.

Our volunteers are committed to saving lives by responding to and reporting on war crimes in Syria.
This leaves us vulnerable, not just to bombs, but also to people and organizations who try to silence us for telling the truth. We will continue our work and will not be intimidated by those who have a vested interest in undermining humanitarian groups like ours. (Editor's translation / deepl)

Sources:

The Guardian: How Syria's White Helmets became victims of an online propaganda machine – The Russia-backed campaign to link the volunteer rescuers with al-Qaeda exposes how conspiracy theories take root: 'It's like a factory' by Olivia Solon
David Puente: Siria: condividere immagini false aiuta e fomenta la war.
The video released by Roberto Saviano David Puente: The video of the presunto falso salvataggio of the White Helmets in Siria.
Fake news? David Puente: “Informazioni” in Rete: Mannequin Challenge
RFS: RFS Statement Of Clarification
Mashable: Syria's White Helmets apologize after trying #MannequinChallenge
CNN: Syria's White Helmets apologize for Mannequin Challenge video
Snopes: Syrian Rescue Organization 'The White Helmets' Are Terrorists?
Syria Civil Defense: SYRIA CIVIL DEFENSE (SCD) RESPOND TO RFS VIDEO ON MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE

Author: Beate L. – mimikama.org


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )