Beware of Fake Syria Propaganda – Another Campaign Exposed!

Recently there has been a photograph circulating around the internet that allegedly depicts a young boy laying next to his parent’s graves in Syria.

The photograph has made its rounds so many different captions have been attached to the image, here is one of the most popular ones.



I first saw it earlier in the week and right away I thought that something about it just felt odd, then I came across an article published by “The Independent”. So it turns out my suspicions were true. The article confirms that this photograph is a hoax and that the alleged orphan is not even an orphan, and that the picture was actually taken in Saudi Arabia. The alleged graves are actually piles of dirt and rocks and the boy’s uncle was the photographer.

Other pictures were taken as well, here is a side by side of the original one that has been used in this blatant propaganda campaign.



Harald Doornbos managed to track down the uncle and interview the him, Abdul Aziz al Otaibi.

The truth behind the picture, which was appropriated by people on social networks this week to reflect the tragic situation in Syria, was unearthed by Harald Doornbos, who interviewed the photographer Abdul Aziz al Otaibi on his blog.

Al-Otaibi said he was shocked by how the picture had been ‘twisted’, given that he made it very clear that the graves were fake when he posted it on Facebook.

Here is what the Uncle had to say:

“Look, it’s not true at all that my picture has anything to do with Syria,” he said. “I am really shocked how people have twisted my picture.”

“I love photography,” he continued. “Every artist has ideas in his head. So I had the idea to make a project whereby I show in pictures how the love of a child for his parents is irreplaceable. This love cannot be substituted by anything or anybody else, even if the parents are dead.”

“I am really very annoyed by this. It is just not fair to take one of my photos totally out of context and use it for your own propaganda.”

So there you have it, another Syria propaganda hoax exposed, and there have been many from all sides.

You may also recall this one from earlier last year…



www.abovetopsecret.com...

I know that the situation in Syria is very grave and that many people are suffering, but we must do our best to seek the truth and not promote lies and outright hoaxes. Stay sharp my friends….

Source: www.independent.co.uk...

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


I would never have seen that photograph if you hadn't posted it here. Thank you for taking it on yourself to spread the propaganda.

reply to post by DJW001


This is the "Deconstructing Disinformation" forum, which is exactly what I have done.

You're welcome

If I was promoting the hoax and portraying it to be true, then I would be spreading propaganda.

Here is a cookie as it appears you need some feeding...



I even gave you a star

No surprise here.

As far as I'm concerned, every single word that comes out of the media's mouth is propaganda. Whether it be about Syria, Libya, Iran, Israel, China, Russia, or friggin Timbuktu.

It's ALL bullcrap in an attempt to direct the masses into the kind of mindset that TPTB want you to believe... so that they can continue to fulfill their fantasized agenda while we all walk around as the blind leading the blind.



Plug your ears, sing "la la la la" to yourself and ignore everything you see, hear, and read.



Instead, do your homework and research... make up your own mind what YOU think the real story is. Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether your own personal opinion about something is right or wrong.... just so long as it does not go with the grain of the majority. Why ? Because this way you are less likely to "fall in line" with mob mentality when the poop finally does hit the fan.

"They" are desperately attempting to reduce as many potential rogue citizens as they possibly can before it all comes crumbling down. "They" are micromanaging the masses.

Therefore, we need to do the exact opposite.


Just my $.02

Corruption Exposed
The article confirms that this photograph is a hoax

The article confirms that the photograph is NOT a hoax.
The false caption, placed on it at a later time, by somebody else, is the hoax.

reply to post by alfa1


I guess for the simple minded it would be difficult to realize what we are talking about is the portrayal of the photo, that is the hoax. Sorry, I did not mean to over complicate things for you.

reply to post by alfa1



Pedantry is alive and well in the little village of ATS...

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


I hate it when people pick out certain words in your posts and turn them against you... Especially when it's pretty obvious what you mean...

Thank you for Denying Ignorance and blasting some propaganda out of the water! S+F

reply to post by iRoyalty


I hear ya, there's at least one in every thread...

Some people may consider this as trivial, but when I first saw this I was sad for the boy, then my spidey senses started tingling and I came across the article mentioned in the OP so I thought I would help straighten this out as people are promoting this all over Twitter and Facebook.

I have seen a few other similar hoaxes, or incorrectly portrayed images recently.

Corruption Exposed
reply to post by iRoyalty

 

I hear ya, there's at least one in every thread...

Some people may consider this as trivial, but when I first saw this I was sad for the boy, then my spidey senses started tingling and I came across the article mentioned in the OP so I thought I would help straighten this out as people are promoting this all over Twitter and Facebook.

I have seen a few other similar hoaxes, or incorrectly portrayed images recently.

Since this forum is about deconstructing disinformation, what aspect of this image do you find objectionable? In what way is it different from an actor portraying a doctor in a commercial for antacid? Are you trying to imply that there are no orphans in Syria, therefore this photograph is inherently misleading? It is as though you are trying to convey the impression that there is no civil war in Syria. Why did you really start this thread?

reply to post by DJW001

Since this forum is about deconstructing disinformation, what aspect of this image do you find objectionable?

I object to a picture of a boy taken in Saudi Arabia by his uncle being portrayed as something that it is not to, I also object to the fact that the masses are promoting this false portrayal on a large scale via social media.

Do you approve of false portrayals?

Would you like it if someone found one of your childhood pics and put it all over the internet and used it to portray you as something that you are not?

In what way is it different from an actor portraying a doctor in a commercial for antacid?

It is different because these are not actors in a commercial...did you really ask that question?

Are you trying to imply that there are no orphans in Syria, therefore this photograph is inherently misleading?

No I am not trying to imply that there are no orphans in Syria, please point out where I have done so.

And yes, if you actually read the OP you will have no choice but arrive to the conclusion that this picture is very misleading, do you not consider this picture to be misleading in the manner it has been portrayed?

Remember, these are NOT actors playing doctors in an antacid commercial...just saying.

It is as though you are trying to convey the impression that there is no civil war in Syria.

No it is not "as though" that I am trying to convey that there is no civil war in Syria, in fact, this post highlights the FACT that there is a war going on in Syria and people are using the internet to spread fake propaganda...kind of like what you do here on ATS on a daily basis.

Why did you really start this thread?

Reading comprehension is not your strong point so let me help you...the answer to your question was clearly illustrated in the portion of my post which you quoted...did you not even read what you quoted...again?

"Some people may consider this as trivial, but when I first saw this I was sad for the boy, then my spidey senses started tingling and I came across the article mentioned in the OP so I thought I would help straighten this out as people are promoting this all over Twitter and Facebook."

I will let you do the math, add the above quote with the name of the forum and that is your answer.

Let's hope you are better at problem solving than you are at trying to derail threads.

reply to post by Corruption Exposed

And yes, if you actually read the OP you will have no choice but arrive to the conclusion that this picture is very misleading, do you not consider this picture to be misleading in the manner it has been portrayed?

It is misleading only if you are interested in the identity of the boy in the photograph. Since he is neither Syrian nor an orphan you would be mistaken if you thought he were. On the other hand, your title not only misleadingly states that it is Syrian propaganda (it may in fact be propaganda from another source) but implies that any statement about Syria may be propaganda. Since any critical consumer of news would be well aware that most of the information coming out of a conflict zone will be propaganda for one side or the other, it once again raises the question why you felt it necessary to present this photograph in the way you have.

reply to post by DJW001


Argument for arguments sake? Cause I don't see you contributing to the discussion :s and those who starred you? Pathetic. What the OP has posted is sourced, not something he's spun himself/herself. That you should be slow-walked to understanding the reasons behind the OP is an absolute joke, please stop ruining my daytime reading material and distracting from possible PRODUCTIVE discussion.

reply to post by BelowLowAnnouncement


This x 100!

Talk about derailing the thread and the intended purpose to shed the illusion of propaganda.

Seems as though he was purposefully trying to take focus away from the manufactured image... maybe in an attempts to allow it to go by unnoticed?

BelowLowAnnouncement
reply to post by DJW001

 

Argument for arguments sake? Cause I don't see you contributing to the discussion :s and those who starred you? Pathetic. What the OP has posted is sourced, not something he's spun himself/herself. That you should be slow-walked to understanding the reasons behind the OP is an absolute joke, please stop ruining my daytime reading material and distracting from possible PRODUCTIVE discussion.

This forum is for deconstructing disinformation. I am attempting to get the poster to deconstruct their own propaganda. Have you noticed how he seems incapable of answering a simple question with a straight answer? He answers questions with rhetorical questions, then launches ad hominem attacks. He couldn't get two posts into this thread before slanging insults. Very well, let's get foused on the supposed topic of this thread. The title refers to a "campaign." Who is behind this "campaign"and why? Is bringing the world's attention to the civil war in Syria a bad thing? Why or why not, and if it's a good thing, what is wrong with staging an artistic image that conveys the tragedy of the situation? Something tells me the OP will not be answering these questions any time soon.

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


Good find !!

There are hundreds of examples.

I always thought those "videos" of the Syria chemical attacks were all fake too.

DJW001
This forum is for deconstructing disinformation. I am attempting to get the poster to deconstruct their own propaganda. Have you noticed how he seems incapable of answering a simple question with a straight answer? He answers questions with rhetorical questions, then launches ad hominem attacks. He couldn't get two posts into this thread before slanging insults. Very well, let's get foused on the supposed topic of this thread. The title refers to a "campaign." Who is behind this "campaign"and why? Is bringing the world's attention to the civil war in Syria a bad thing? Why or why not, and if it's a good thing, what is wrong with staging an artistic image that conveys the tragedy of the situation? Something tells me the OP will not be answering these questions any time soon.

edit on 18-1-2014 by DJW001 because: (no reason given)

This thread has the intended purpose of what the OP states... It is you that are trying to turn this thread into something it is not.

This thread is NOT about the Civil War in Syria.
This thread is NOT about calling to attention the Civil War in Syria.
No argument can be made for or against the Civil War because this thread is NOT about that.
There is nothing wrong with an artist staging an image for an intended purpose.
What is wrong is another person or persons taking said image and manipulating it for a purpose it was never intended for.

Are you done here or do you want another cookie?

Sovaka

DJW001
This forum is for deconstructing disinformation. I am attempting to get the poster to deconstruct their own propaganda. Have you noticed how he seems incapable of answering a simple question with a straight answer? He answers questions with rhetorical questions, then launches ad hominem attacks. He couldn't get two posts into this thread before slanging insults. Very well, let's get foused on the supposed topic of this thread. The title refers to a "campaign." Who is behind this "campaign"and why? Is bringing the world's attention to the civil war in Syria a bad thing? Why or why not, and if it's a good thing, what is wrong with staging an artistic image that conveys the tragedy of the situation? Something tells me the OP will not be answering these questions any time soon.

edit on 18-1-2014 by DJW001 because: (no reason given)

This thread has the intended purpose of what the OP states... It is you that are trying to turn this thread into something it is not.

This thread is NOT about the Civil War in Syria.
This thread is NOT about calling to attention the Civil War in Syria.
No argument can be made for or against the Civil War because this thread is NOT about that.
There is nothing wrong with an artist staging an image for an intended purpose.
What is wrong is another person or persons taking said image and manipulating it for a purpose it was never intended for.

Are you done here or do you want another cookie?

Funny... the title of this thread is""Beware of Fake Syria Propaganda – Another Campaign Exposed," not: "Is it morally wrong to re-purpose another's work?" It is you who are trying to drag the thread off topic.

reply to post by DJW001




Be careful not to choke on it...

reply to post by xuenchen


No doubt Xuenchen, so many theatrics are coming out of that region that everything must be questioned. Turns out that this one got questioned and some interesting answers were provided.

Saudi Arabian uncle and nephew doing some family time photography and all of a sudden they unwillingly become an internet sensation and dragged into the Syrian propaganda campaign war. Like I said earlier, when I first saw this I honestly felt sad, then thought about it and it just did not feel right then I bump into this article.

I think we need to start trusting our gut instincts more often, but that being said we must also keep an open mind and not let our biases and or preconceived notions dictate our though process.

I probably won't be able to post back in here until tomorrow so everyone have a good night, even you DJ

Cheers Xuenchen been a while man, hope all is well.