Syria's 'Sharaa' Coup: Russia's New Best Friend in Damascus
📰 THE STORY: Al-Monitor reports that a fictional Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss Russian military bases, following Sharaa's alleged toppling of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The story posits a diplomatic dispute over Russia's continued sheltering of Assad. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: Bashar al-Assad remains the President of
Syria. There has been no coup against him in 2024, and no figure named Ahmed al-Sharaa holds that office. This article is entirely fabricated, yet distributed as news, playing into years of Western-backed narratives to remove Assad. In 2013, the US government, through figures like then-Secretary of State John Kerry, pushed for 'Assad must go,' supporting various 'rebel' factions which included
al-Qaeda affiliates. Double Standard: Imagine a major media outlet publishing a detailed fake news story about a coup in, say, France, complete with fictional leaders and diplomatic disputes, and passing it off as current events. The widespread silence in challenging this fabricated Syrian narrative highlights how easily Western audiences are primed to accept any story, no matter how outlandish,
if it aligns with regime-change objectives in targeted nations. Conversely, state-backed coups, like the 2002 US-backed attempt against Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, are often framed by this same media as 'popular uprisings.' Follow the Money: The ecosystem that produces and disseminates such fabricated reports often relies on significant funding from Western governments and affiliated think tanks.