{"id":138173,"date":"2024-12-17T21:50:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T14:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138173"},"modified":"2024-12-17T21:50:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T14:50:02","slug":"cnn-faces-backlash-over-staged-syrian-prisoner-rescue-report-syrias-war-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138173","title":{"rendered":"CNN faces backlash over \u2018staged\u2019 Syrian prisoner rescue report | Syria&#8217;s War News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Criticism mounts as US news channel backtracks on identity of Syrian prisoner who provided a false name and worked as an intelligence officer in the Assad regime.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A Syrian thought to be a prisoner rescued by United States media outlet CNN has turned out to be a former intelligence officer in the Bashar al-Assad government.<\/p>\n<p>After a lightning offensive that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/12\/10\/syria\">overthrew<\/a> the 24-year-long regime this month, opposition fighters freed thousands of people from a network of prisons run by the former government.<\/p>\n<p>The report produced by CNN documenting what it claimed was the rescue of the prisoner has garnered widespread criticism, forcing the media outlet to re-examine the claims.<\/p>\n<p>The video, aired on Thursday, shows CNN\u2019s Clarissa Ward and her team, accompanied by an opposition fighter, reporting from a secret prison in the capital, Damascus, and stumbling upon a \u201chidden prisoner\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a civilian. I\u2019m a civilian,\u201d the prisoner said as he cowered under a blanket with hands raised.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">CNN\u2019s irresponsible reporting is a slap in the face to all the hard working and dilligent journalists who have been covering Syria for years, often at great personal risk. Heads should roll\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oUBuGVJmZ8\">https:\/\/t.co\/oUBuGVJmZ8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Christian Henderson (@CjvHenderson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CjvHenderson\/status\/1868959891412730296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 17, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The man, who identified himself in the video as Adel Gharbal from Homs, was revealed to be Salama Mohammad Salama, according to the Syrian fact-checking platform Verify Sy on Sunday \u2013 an assertion later confirmed by CNN\u2019s own investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Salama told CNN he was in detention for three months after his phone was searched and he was later transferred to another facility in Damascus.<\/p>\n<p>However, Verify Sy reported residents saying he had been incarcerated for less than a month over extortion-related charges.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Does no one see how problematic\u2014and staged\u2014this is? Shame on you, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/clarissaward?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@clarissaward<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CNN<\/a>, for exploiting Syrian survivors and profiting off the pain of suffering communities. This isn\u2019t journalism; it\u2019s ego-driven sensationalism. cc <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NatEnquirer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NatEnquirer<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSun?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TheSun<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Syria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Syria<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oeayi3OPHn\">https:\/\/t.co\/oeayi3OPHn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Raja Althaibani (allegedly) (@RajaAlthaibani) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RajaAlthaibani\/status\/1867145964168904800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 12, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ward said in her report that she and her team were at the prison initially searching for US journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in 2012 when he was abducted in the capital while on a reporting tour to cover the uprising against al-Assad.<\/p>\n<p>A community note shared under Ward\u2019s post on X, where she called it \u201cone of the most extraordinary moments\u201d of her career, now reads: \u201cHis real name is Salama Mohammad Salama. Salama, known as \u201cAbu Hamza,\u201d is a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence, notorious for his activities in Homs. Residents identified him as frequently stationed at a checkpoint in the area\u2019s western entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the release of the report, users on social media began questioning CNN\u2019s coverage, some even accusing the US outlet of staging the whole incident.<\/p>\n<p>One user highlighted Salama\u2019s \u201cperfectly manicured nails\u201d, \u201cclean clothes\u201d and overall well-groomed look, casting doubts about the truth behind the network\u2019s widely shared video.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Many of us correctly suspected that CNN staged the prisoner story.<\/p>\n<p>CNN is now backtracking, shifting blame onto the man while absolving itself of any wrongdoing.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/clarissaward?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@clarissaward<\/a> own up and apologise for misleading your viewers. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CkoqXb7GZx\">https:\/\/t.co\/CkoqXb7GZx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ismailo\u011flu Pasha (@IsmailogluF) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IsmailogluF\/status\/1868788780821610988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 16, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Since Monday\u2019s clarification, many have demanded CNN apologise for its original reporting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a totally shambolic event for CNN,\u201d one user posted on X.<\/p>\n<p>Another user accused the US outlet of \u201cbacktracking\u201d, putting the blame squarely on Salama, and \u201cabsolving itself of any wrongdoing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>CNN said it was unaware of Salama\u2019s whereabouts and had been unable to make contact with him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/12\/17\/cnn-faces-backlash-over-staged-syrian-prisoner-rescue-report\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Criticism mounts as US news channel backtracks on identity of Syrian prisoner who provided a false name and worked as an intelligence officer in the Assad regime. A Syrian thought &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138173\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}