DISINFO: OPCW leaks confirm Russian conclusions
SUMMARY
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) issued a report in March 2019, which mentioned the use of toxic chemicals in the Syrian city of Douma in April 2018, but the report’s findings contradicted the conclusions of Russian experts who provided evidence that there was no attack, but rather a “theatrical play” organized by the members of the “White Helmets”.
In May 2019, OPCW documents were leaked, confirming the validity of Russian conclusions and putting the report’s findings into question. The organization has launched an investigation into the information leak and has accused two of its employees, whose names have not been released, of leaking sensitive information.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narratives deflecting blame for chemical attacks from the Assad regime; painting the White Helmets as terrorists, and aiming to discredit the OPCW.
The "never-before-seen-report" appears to be an engineering assessment carried out by one individual who, contrary to Sputnik's false claim, was never a member of the Fact-Finding Mission and is not currently employed by the organization.
Furthermore, the "whistleblowers" declined to take part in the investigation that met instead with 29 witnesses between July 2019 and February 2020.