On March 9, Facebook accounts known for systematically spreading false information, “Sido Sidonia” and Sandro Lobzhanidze, posted a video purportedly showing events unfolding in Syria. According to the video’s caption, “Christians have been mutilated and executed by crucifixion for refusing to convert to Islam.”
The Facebook users are spreading video manipulation since the footage does not depict the happenings in Syria. In reality, the video has been available since 2012 and was filmed in Yemen, when a local extremist group executed several Christians using different methods.
The video circulating on Facebook is at least 12 years old and does not depict current events in Syria. The video and related images have been found on the Internet since 2012. The footage was taken in Yemen. In particular, according to open sources, after the jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia took control of a region in Yemen in 2012, at least three Christian individuals were accused of espionage for the US and were executed. One of them, the man shown in the video, was crucified on an electricity pole, while the others were killed by other methods.
As reported by media in 2012, based on the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the man in the video was accused of collaborating with the U.S. to help target terrorists by drones. He was crucified in the Abyan province of southern Yemen. According to media, a flag of the Al-Qaeda-linked group and a text from the Koran were hanging above the man’s head.
What is happening in Syria?
On March 6, armed clashes broke out between Syrian security forces and supporters of former president Bashar al-Assad. The clashes have already claimed the lives of over 1,000 people in the western part of the country, populated by the Islamic Alawite minority. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Of them, of the total casualties, 745 were civilians (mostly Alawites). The organization reports that 148 Assad supporters and at least 125 Syrian security forces were killed in the past few days. The ongoing violence in Syria is described as the most brutal in the 13-year-long conflict, with women and children among the victims.
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