DISINFO: Chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria was staged, as the video of victims in the hospital is fake
SUMMARY
The footage of people being treated after an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria was staged. US President made decision to bomb Syria based on one video.
RESPONSE
No reliable evidence that footage of people being treated in a hospital after chemical weapons attack in Douma is fake. The new round of disinformation was launched after Intercept published a new article about the Douma attack. The article states: "At least one chemical attack did take place in Douma on April 7, and people died as a result." The Interim report of the OPCW fact-finding mission in Syria regarding the incident of alleged use of toxic chemicals as a weapon in Douma states that "Various chlorinated organic chemicals were found in samples from Locations 2 and 4, along with residues of explosive" (p. 2). Consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that chemical attack in Douma, Syria was staged. See our and Bellingcat's reporting how Russian and Syrian state media have used fiction movies to "prove" that the Douma attack was fabricated. Background: On 7 April 2018, a high number of civilians were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Douma, with evidence pointing towards another chemical attack by the regime, according to the EU. In April 2018, the US Government assessed with high confidence, that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons in the eastern Damascus suburb of Duma on April 7, based on descriptions of the attack in multiple media sources, the reported symptoms experienced by victims, videos and images showing two assessed barrel bombs from the attack, and reliable information indicating coordination between Syrian military officials before the attack. According to the World Health Organisation, during the shelling of Douma on Saturday, an estimated 500 patients presented to health facilities exhibiting signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2018/chemical-attacks-syria/en/ See also Bellingcat's open source survey on the suspected chemical attack: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/04/11/open-source-survey-alleged-chemical-attacks-douma-7th-april-2018/