DISINFO: The West always knew the Douma hospital videos were fake
SUMMARY
The West knew from the beginning about the simulations of a chemical attack in Syria. The fake character of the video cannot and should not be questioned by anyone.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about Douma.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). An assessment made by French Ministry of foreign affairs relied not on "amateur images" but on examination of various pieces of evidence, including press pictures, declassified intelligence data and Non-governmental medical organizations active in Ghouta (Syrian American Society and Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations). The French MFA specified that "the alleged use of bronchodilators by the medical services observed in the videos reinforces the hypothesis of intoxication with suffocating agents". According to the EU, 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. See our and Bellingcat's reporting how Russian and Syrian state media have used fiction movies to "prove" that the Douma attack was staged. See more disinfo cases on how the White Helmets (Syrian Civil Defense) are working for ISIS or fake images of war crimes for Western audiences.