Laundering Lies: How Russia Today Misled Mainstream Media into Sharing a Fake Asma Al-Assad Story.

RT Arabic quietly rewrote a misleading news report on its website, erasing the disinformation it had originally spread without offering any clarification. The fabricated story not only misled RT’s audience but also cascaded across dozens of news websites, amplifying the falsehood. Rather than admitting its error, RT repositioned itself as a fact-checker, effectively burying its role in spreading the disinformation—while ignoring the work of Verify Syria, which had already captured and debunked their claim.

Laundering Lies and Exporting Falsehoods 

In the early hours of Monday, February 17, RT Arabic published a report titled: "Asma Al-Assad Breaks Her Silence and Speaks for the First Time After the Fall of the Regime." The story cited posts from a fake X account impersonating Asma Al-Akhras, the wife of deposed Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. The fabricated report quickly gained traction, spreading across dozens of Arabic-language news networks and even reaching English-language platforms, further amplifying the disinformation.

Several Arabic news channels allocated airtime and digital space to discuss "Asma Al-Assad’s return and her breaking of silence." The story’s credibility was further reinforced by the fact that it originated from a Russian state-run network—the very country that granted asylum to Bashar Al-Assad and his family after they fled Syria on December 8, 2024. 

Verify Syria Unveils the Truth

Within hours of the story going viral, our team published an investigative report titled: "Did Asma Al-Assad Break Her Silence and Speak for the First Time After the Fall of the Regime?" The report exposed RT’s disinformation, revealing that the X account impersonating Asma Al-Assad was fake, operated by an unknown entity, and amplified by another fraudulent account impersonating her son, Hafez Bashar Al-Assad.  

🛑 Fact-check | The claim that Asma al-Assad broke her silence for the first time after the fall of the regime is misleading.
✅ The account attributed to her on Platform X is fake and was promoted by a fraudulent channel impersonating her son.

🔗 Read the full investigation:… pic.twitter.com/iCz3KhLdlg

— تَـأكّـدْ (@VeSyria) February 17, 2025

Following our publication, several news outlets quietly retracted the story, deleting their reports without issuing any clarification or apology—a stark display of media irresponsibility and disregard for public trust. 

A Professional & Ethical Failure  

Even after being exposed for spreading falsehoods, RT Arabic quietly altered its misleading report—but never acknowledged its original disinformation or explained the sudden correction.

Worse still, RT falsely took credit for "fact-checking" the fake account, despite relying entirely on Verify Syria’s investigation to uncover the truth.

Surprisingly, MBC’s Al-Arabiya Syria, which initially fell for the RT’s disinformation, later repeated RT’s correction—yet again failing to credit  our team’s investigation, the original source of the fact-check.

The Rise of Fake Accounts

The reporting of RT fueled the growth of fraudulent accounts that it had previously promoted as "official sources." Although X later suspended the fake profiles impersonating Asma and Hafez Al-Assad, their linked Telegram channels saw a surge in followers, reaching tens of thousands.

Meanwhile, news networks and social media platforms still cite these fraudulent accounts as legitimate sources, further fueling misinformation. This trend deepens the disinformation crisis, eroding trust in journalism—particularly in the chaotic digital landscape of conflicts and wars, where truth is often the first casualty.

This case highlights the urgent need for media outlets to uphold professional standards and prioritize fact-checking—especially in volatile situations where misinformation can have real-life consequences.