07/10/2011 / SYRIA
Fake video of Syrian army deserters is spreading online
This video, published October 5th on YouTube, shows dozens of Syrian soldiers dancing and singing an anti-regime song. The title of this video implies that they are deserters who joined the “Free Syrian Army.” The song is a hymn to the Syrian province of Deraa as well as a stinging attack on President Bashar Al-Assad, whom they call “Syria’s traitor.”
This video was sent to us by one of our contacts in Syria, who was convinced the soldiers were deserters. It is indeed true that numerous Syrian soldiers have deserted the army in the past few weeks. The video has been widely shared on Facebook (such as this one) as well as on blogs and Arabic news sites.
However, this video has been tampered with. The soldiers are actually Assad loyalists. The protest song was added on.
A comment on YouTube points out this manipulation:
“This video is a fake. The sound has been added onto the images. These are Assad’s men partying in Deraa, and singing: ‘God, Syria, Bashar, and that’s all!’”
Thanks to one of our Observers, Ayman al-Aswad, we were able to verify that this video was indeed a fake. Al-Aswad, who lives in Deraa, confirmed that this video was filmed in his region. He even recognised one of the army’s security agents, a young man in his thirties wearing a blue cap and glasses, who appears three times in the video (at 0’21, at 0’50 and at 1’04.) Our Observers says the man’s name is Moussa Aboud, and that he is a regime loyalist, not at all a deserter.
We have not been able to track down the video’s original version, without the music. If you see it, please share the link in the comments section below.
UPDATE (October 12, 2011):
The person who posted the video edited its description after the publication of this article. It now clearly indicates that the music was added onto the video.
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Comments
Filnally France24 telling the truth about Syria
Submitted by Omar Mohammad (not verified) on Sun, 25/12/2011 - 12:14.Thanx to France 24 to show the real thing and put the right finger on lies and conspiracies that attacking Syria and mass of Syria ,, we are Syrian people care about there home, Syrian people die for uniting there country not for destroying it, Syrian people refuse terror and intolerance ,, so kep on telling truth and fight the spreading media lies
Thank You
Submitted by Abdo Durra (not verified) on Sat, 08/10/2011 - 21:10.I would like to thank you France 24 for showing the real truth about this video. This is greatly appreciated by the millions of Syrians supporting our great President Bashar Al-Assad. Please don't be a part of the misleading media and always try and confirm the credibility of any source before using it in your articles or newscasts.
The Syrian channel "Addounia" has a segment usually every day that reveals any videos that are fake or misleading. Please watch these segments on their YouTube channel. The videos are called "التضليل الاعلامي" which translates in English to "Media Disinformation".
Here is a link for their channel http://www.youtube.com/user/addounia
Please be on our side during these tough times. We do have terrorists groups in our country that are killing many army soldiers and police officers along with many innocent people only because they support our government and our President Bashar Al-Assad.
Again, I thank you for this article and plead you to show the real truth about what's happening in Syria.
Sincerely
Abdo
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE SECURITY FORCES(SHABIHA)
Submitted by ABO sakher (not verified) on Sat, 08/10/2011 - 10:42.THE PEPOLE WHO IS IN VIDEO ISN'T SOLDIER BUT THEY ARE SECURITY FORCES WEARING MILLITARY UNIFORM DUO TO OPERATIONS NEEDS WE CAN IN SYRIA EASILY RECOGNIZE THEM BY THE GREEN(SOMETIMES RED) BAND THAR IS HANGED ON THE LEFT SHOULDER (SHOWN IN VIDEO) & THIS FORCES IS VERY LOYAL TO SYRIAN REGIME DUO TO THE BELONGING OF ALAWITE SECT