In yet another installment of “How Stupid Can You Be?” - a question becoming all too common these days, especially among the so-called “news media” - CNN is now “investigating” its own viral story in which one of their correspondents was filmed stumbling upon a lone Syrian prisoner supposedly being held in one of recently-ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s prisons in Damascus.
The report, billed as a shocking moment that supposedly captured the horror of Assad’s torture camps, shows the man - somehow the only prisoner left in the building, having no idea Assad's regime had been overturned - stumbling out from under a blanket looking stunned when the camera crew barged into his cell, then staring at wonderment at the sun as he stepped out into freedom.
Clean clothes, perfectly groomed, and perfectly manicured nails. Looking good for a prisoner who was supposedly confined and starved in a prison cell for months by Assad who didn’t know that the regime had fallen and that the prison had been emptied. CNN never fails to deliver. pic.twitter.com/AIaxnvLrqt
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 13, 2024
But something didn’t pass the smell test. Actually, a whole lot of things, and they stunk to high heaven.
For one thing, internet users were quick to note that this supposedly incarcerated hostage being held in a rat-infested hellhole by a violent dictator for the past three months didn’t look like the typical, mistreated prisoner. On the contrary, the man appeared clean, well-fed, and clear-eyed, with manicured fingernails, well-trimmed hair, and a groomed beard. Showing no visible injuries, he clearly has no trouble moving, speaking, or understanding as the supposedly confounded camera crew pours into his cell, with CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward frantically repeating, “You’re OK, you’re OK” in English.
“He clutches my arm tightly with both hands,” Ward says dramatically in the report, seemingly so overcome with emotion that she doesn’t notice the man who’s supposedly been kept in a dark, dank cell for the past 90 days has no trouble stepping out into the sunlight.
Ward later posted to X, “In nearly twenty years as a journalist, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed,” along with the video.
Related: Column: 'Reliable' Media Aren't Ashamed of Fake News on Gaza Hospital Blast
Now, it turns out - as anyone with two eyes and some basic common sense could see all along - that the man’s story might not exactly be on the up-and-up. In fact, one report suggests this supposed “Syrian prisoner,” who gave his name as Adel Ghurbal, might actually be Salama Mohammad Salama, a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence and a “regime torturer” for al-Assad.
CNN now says the network is “investigating” the possibility that their correspondent was duped.
“We reported the scene as it unfolded, including what the prisoner told us, with clear attribution. We have subsequently been investigating his background and are aware that he may have given a false identity. We are continuing our reporting into this and the wider story,” the statement concluded.
If you ask me, something doesn't pass the sniff test about CNN's story, either.
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