DISINFO: West uses Goebbels' methods to put pressure on Syria
SUMMARY
The West is using Goebbels’ methods to put pressure on Syria. On April 7, 2018, a pseudo-humanitarian organisation called the White Helmets, who are associated with British intelligence, announced a chemical attack in the city of Douma. Western media immediately accused the Syrian army of using chemical weapons against civilians. The very next day, Jaysh al-Islam fighters fled from Douma and the Syrian and Russian military entered the city, who did not find any traces of a chemical attack. Subsequently, it became known that the video recordings of the consequences of the “chemical attack” provided to the Western media by “the White Helmets” were staged.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria. In March 2019, the OPCW confirmed in its final report that chlorine was used in the attack on Douma, April 7, 2018. According to the Berlin Non-Profit Organisation Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), chemical weapons were used more than 300 times in Syria.
Background: The White Helmets movement originated in Syria in 2012, when the first detachments of volunteer rescuers appeared in the territories outside of the control of Bashar al-Assad's troops. In 2014, volunteer teams merged into a national organisation, the Syrian Civil Defence, which is the official name of the White Helmets.
Volunteers save people from the rubble after bombings, despite the danger of dying themselves as a result of repeated airstrikes. Activists have documented the use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Assad government and allied forces. Russia is supporting Assad, therefore the White Helmets have become the target of an extensive Russian disinformation campaign.
The White Helmets are a staple topic of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives on the Syrian civil war, having already been accused of numerous other provocations and war crimes including organ trafficking; aiding terrorist organisations; staging and/or perpetrating chemical attacks, sometimes with the help of Western intelligence agencies.