An exposé by The Grayzone has thrown CNN’s coverage of the Syrian conflict into disrepute, revealing that chief foreign correspondent Clarissa Ward staged a dramatic scene involving the release of a supposed prisoner from a Syrian jail.
Footage aired by CNN showed Clarissa Ward seemingly rescuing a man from a cell in what was described as one of the Assad regime’s notorious secret prisons.
The segment was portrayed as an ”extraordinary moment” where Ward and her team stumbled upon a forgotten individual still locked away, unaware that the regime had fallen. However, investigations by The Grayzone and subsequent social media scrutiny suggest this moment was fabricated.
The man purportedly freed was initially identified by CNN as a civilian, adding a dramatic human interest angle to the story. However, revelations following the broadcast indicate that this individual was not who he claimed to be. Instead, he was identified by the Syrian fact-checking organization Verify-Sy as Salama Mohammad Salama, an intelligence officer with a known history of corruption and abuse, rather than a random civilian.
Verify-Sy:
”His real name is Salama Mohammad Salama. Salama, known as ”Abu Hamza,” is a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence, notorious for his activities in Homs.”
Clarissa Ward involved in other questionable reports
Critics have lambasted CNN for what appears to be a lack of due diligence in verifying the identity and circumstances surrounding their ”rescued” prisoner. Social media users and other journalists, including Max Blumenthal, have pointed out inconsistencies such as the prisoner’s clean appearance, which seemed unlikely for someone allegedly held in such conditions for months.
Max Blumenthal writes on X:
”This is an obviously staged and fake scene by one of the biggest regime change frauds in corporate media. This prison had already been cleared out by HTS goon squads days earlier, then civilians scoured its cells for relatives.
But somehow Clarissa Ward, the news actress who once faked being under direct fire by Hamas, and who has spent over a decade shamelessly propagandizing for the jihadists now executing minorities in Latakia, just happened upon the last prisoner slumbering under a blanket.
This scam scenario reminds me of the time Ward’s colleague, Arwa Damon, determined that Assad used chemical weapons by sniffing a child’s backpack, and of the countless blatant deceptions deployed by the Syrian opposition on its way toward become the new gangster government.
Journalist flim-flam like not only exposes the absence of editorial standards at CNN, it raises questions about the credibility of Ward’s past pieces trumping up regime change in other countries targeted by US and UK intelligence.”
The backlash on social media has been significant, with posts from people like Wyatt Reed and Jeremy Scahill (the documentary filmmaker behind the movie Dirty Wars) highlighting CNN’s questionable journalistic practices in this instance.
CNN has since acknowledged the discrepancies and announced an investigation into the incident, focusing on the identity of the man featured in Ward’s report. However, CNN continues to defend Ward, with no public acknowledgement of responsibility on her part for the apparent staging of the event.
The incident has broader implications for CNN’s reporting on the Syrian conflict. It raises questions about the integrity of past coverage by Clarissa Ward, who has been known for advocating regime change in Syria.
The independent journalist Dan Cohen writes on X:
”Clarissa Ward staged this scene not because Syria’s prisons are insufficiently brutal, but for the exact same reason CNN helped Israel exaggerate the events of October 7. This is pure political propaganda to ensure maximum destruction of Syria by HTS and its NATO/Israeli handlers.
Can’t spell Clarissa without CIA.”
This scandal could tarnish CNN’s reputation for objective journalism, especially in regions where the network has previously been accused of promoting narratives aligned with Western geopolitical interests.
CNN’s response has shifted blame onto the individual who misrepresented his identity, while the network insists it is committed to uncovering the truth. However, this incident underscores the challenges of reporting in conflict zones where verifying information can be as difficult as crucial.
The story prompts a necessary conversation about the ethics of journalism, especially in war-torn areas when US war propaganda hides facts and disinforms the public.
By T. Sassersson
Sources and related
- CNN: CNN witnesses moment rebels free man from Syrian prison, and Clarissa Ward goes inside Syria’s infamous ‘slaughterhouse’ prison
- CNN: Clarissa Ward
- GrayZone: Scandal deepens around CNN’s Clarissa Ward staging Syria prison scene
- AP: CNN says its report on a freed Syrian prisoner is not what it initially believed
- Aljazeera: CNN faces backlash over ‘staged’ Syrian prisoner rescue report