How Syria's White Helmets Became Victims Of An Online Propaganda Machine

Having followed the wars in Syria and Ukraine as a journalist more or less since their beginning, it has been interesting (and somewhat alarming) to see how the dominant narratives have changed over time.

In Ukraine, an initial wave of Russian propaganda and disinformation was more or less exposed, and a relatively honest (if somewhat un-nuanced) narrative of events become predominant in the Western media. In Syria, however, Russia — and its allies in Iran and elsewhere, known as the 'Resistance Axis' — were much more successful in reshaping public opinion and media coverage into being less friendly towards the opposition in the country.

Taking advantage of the distrust of the mainstream both in the far-right and far-left of politics, this propaganda aimed not only to promote the Assad regime but more importantly destroy the credibility of any organisations telling the truth from rebel-held areas. The aim of this, of course, was to create a trust-free space, where there was no discernible difference between truth and propaganda — something that persists in Syria to this day.

This article by Olivia Soon for The Guardian documents one part of this propaganda operation. Chronicling how Russian media sought to destroy the reputation of the White Helmets, one of the largest and most successful humanitarian groups in the war-torn country, it is a powerful reminder of just how pervasive and destructive this kind of disinformation can be.