How a Syrian YouTuber Fooled Supporters of the Ousted Regime

This artical was translated using artificial intelligence,the original language is Arabic

On Thursday evening, January 24, pro-regime Syrian accounts claimed that military factions affiliated with the New Syrian Administration had withdrawn from Latakia and Tartus. The claims also suggested that "Russian aircraft are mobilizing, and Maher al-Assad has returned to the Syrian coast."

These allegations caused confusion across Syria, particularly in Latakia and Tartus, following the circulation of videos and reports alleging violations against Alawites in rural Homs. The situation was exacerbated by a flood of disinformation and out-of-context reports. While the Verify-sy platform debunked some of the claims, the majority remain unconfirmed due to the lack of reliable sources documenting the events.

Later, the General Security Directorate in Latakia denied reports of troop withdrawals from the province. In a statement by its director, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kanifati, the claims were labeled as "false information." The directorate stated, "Some outlaws exploited this misinformation to carry out criminal acts targeting Ministry of Interior sites. Their attempts failed, resulting in the neutralization of three attackers, while operations to pursue the fugitives continue."

المقدم مصطفى كنيفاتي مدير الأمن في محافظة اللاذقية : تناقلت بعض وسائل التواصل معلومات كاذبة حول انسحاب قوات الأمن العام من عدة مواقع في محافظة اللاذقية، وقد استغل هذه المعلومات بعض العناصر الخارجين عن القانون لتنفيذ أعمال إجرامية باستهداف مواقع تابعة لوزارة الداخلية، ولكن فشلت…

— محمد الفيصل || M . faisal (@mhmdfaisel) January 24, 2025

The Source of the Claim

Verify-sy conducted an investigation using open-source tools to trace the claim's origins and identified the primary source as a Telegram channel run by a Syrian satirist named Nour Halabi.

What Actually Happened?

At 5:23 PM Damascus time, Halabi posted on his channel, known for its satirical content, claiming that "the withdrawal of factions from the coast is part of an agreement between Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Damascus, stipulating the handover of the Syrian coast to Maher al-Assad under conditions that only the Fourth Division remains in the area, without interference in Damascus affairs, and vice versa."

Three minutes later, at 5:26 PM, Halabi posted again, clarifying that his earlier statement was a joke. He accompanied the post with a picture of a smiling dog.

How Did the Rumor Spread?

Despite the short interval between the initial post and the clarification, those three minutes were sufficient for the claim to spread widely among supporters of the ousted regime. Among the first to share it was Omar Rahmoun, a former official in the Assad regime's "Syrian Reconciliation" initiative. He posted the information from Halabi’s initial post to his account on platform X (formerly Twitter), where he has approximately 100,000 followers. Rahmoun later deleted his post without providing an explanation.

Halabi's Intent Behind the Post

Speaking to Verify-sy via Instagram, Halabi stated that the motive behind his "skit," as he described it, was the New Syrian Administration's Ministry of Information's failure to curb the chaos of misinformation. He explained that numerous accounts and pages often take his satirical posts, distort them into incendiary narratives, and even incite armed resistance against public security forces. Halabi said he deliberately misled these pages to expose their lack of credibility.

While Halabi admitted that his actions might have been a mistake, he believes he successfully revealed the dishonesty of Assad regime supporters, particularly those who celebrated the unconfirmed news of Maher al-Assad's return to Syria.

Omar Rahmoun's Response

Verify-sy reached out to Omar Rahmoun via X to ask about the source of the information he posted and why he later deleted it. Rahmoun replied, "Something happened on the coast tonight: fighters, especially foreigners, were relocated, leaving behind only public security and police forces. This part is true. However, the information about Maher al-Assad arriving in Hmeimim was false. Once I confirmed this, I deleted the post."

Rahmoun did not disclose the source of his initial information in his response, which was received at 6:12 AM.