Kremlist Media and Political Actors “Replicate” Messages of the Government of Russia about the Syrian Events

On April 7, the airstrike carried out by the United States, the United Kingdom and France in retaliation for the chemical attack of the Syrian Government Forces on Douma, was followed by dissemination of messages of the Russian Government among the pro-Kremlin Georgian media and political actors.

A representative of the Alliance of Patriots, Giorgi Maghlakelidze, blamed the United States of creating and arming terrorist groups in Syria, while, on April 14, the program “Golden Cut” on air at TV Obiektivi showed fragments of a briefing held by the Ministry of Defence of Russia, where Russia denied the existence of chemical weapons in Syria and evaluated the airstrike of the United States as an attempt to hinder an objective investigation. Comments were made about decreasing the role of Russia in the conflict, as a peacemaker. Various respondents on air at TV Obiektivi also voiced disinformative messages, created by the Russian media and the government concerning the chemical attack, i.e. the chemical attack is a provocation, staged by the volunteer rescuers, the White Helmets, which are funded by the Britain and the United States.

Apart from discussing the chemical attack and the coalition airstrike, the respondents accused the United States of organizing the uprisings and revolutions in Syria, Libya and Iraq.

Identical sources of the Russian Government and the disinformative messages of the media

Real facts

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 500 people were poisoned as a result of the offensive carried out by the Syrian Army in Douma, Syria, on April 7. More than 40 people were killed in the attack, according to Syrian opposition activists, rescuers and doctors.

Violations Documentation Center (VDC), which investigated the cases of international law violations, stated that two attacks, supposedly involving toxic materials, were carried out in Douma: the first one happened on 16:30, while the second one took place on 19:30. According to the Syrian volunteer rescue group White Helmets and the Syrian-American Medical Association, as of 19:45, more than 500 patients, predominantly women and children, had been taken to hospitals with symptoms of chemical agent poisoning.

The Government of Syria denied the accusations and stated that the rebels disseminated fake information. The main ally of Assad’s regime, the Government of Russia, stated that there are “undeniable evidences”, which prove that the incident is “staged” and that the Britain is behind it. On April 10, Russia vetoed the resolution, proposed by the United States at the UN Security Council, which envisaged launching an independent investigation on the usage of the chemical weapons against civilians in Syria.

On April 14, the United States, the United Kingdom and France carried out airstrikes on three objects, which, according to them, were connected to the chemical weapons program of the Government of Syria. Earlier, the White House published a statement, according to which Assad used chemical weapons, namely chlorine and nerve agent sarin, during the attack on Eastern Ghouta. On April 14, the Government of France also published a document about the Government of Syria using chlorine.

The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) stated on April 16 that, according to their experts, the accusations on using the chemical weapons are “reliable” and “require further investigation”. He also added that when the organisation’s investigative group arrived in Damascus on April 14, the representatives of Russian and Syrian governments did not let them enter Douma “due to security reasons”.

Source: White Helmets/ Reuters

Kremlin’s campaign against the White Helmets with “arguments” taken from a movie

The Ministry of Defence of Russia stated on April 9, that the photo materials, disseminated by the Syrian volunteer rescuers, the White Helmets, are a fabrication. The same day, according to EU vs Disinfo, the news program «Вести» on TV «Россия 1» showed a video, allegedly proving that the volunteer rescuers’ group White Helmets are faking the chemical attack footage, on Britain’s order. According to an investigative group Bellingcat, the photos, which supposedly prove the fabrication of footage by the White Helmets, were used by «Вести» earlier as well and they are actually from a movie called Revolution Man.

Apart from Россия 1, the materials about the White Helmets allegedly faking the chemical attack were also aired in the period of April 10-16 by TV Звезда (a TV company owned by the Ministry of Defence of Russia), as well as НТВ, Russia Today and TACC.

On April 14, a Pentagon representative stated that there was significant increase in activity of the profiles associated with pro-Russian trolls which were disseminating conspiracy theories about the Syrian events in social networks on April 12-13. Before, the majority of the troll profiles had been disseminating disinformation about Skripal poisoning case.

Kremlin has been conducting a smear campaign against the White Helmets for years, which includes the disinformation about an alleged cooperation of the rescuers with terrorists and planned provocations. The conspiracies aim to increase distrust towards the activities of the rescue group.

Prepared by Dali Kurdadze