The Houla Hoaxsters

[sharon]

I don't now for certain that this is true, but I do have a sense that we don't really know what is going on in Syria.. But, if the Houla massacre photos were taken in Iraq in 2003, the objective is propaganda.

The Houla Hoaxsters

It was supposed to be another “Benghazi moment” – an incident so horrific that it would spark Western military intervention in Syria’s increasingly violent civil war. The massacre at Houla was reported to be just such a moment: Syria’s security forces stand accused of killing 32 children under ten years of age, and more than 60 adults, by bombing the rebel-held village of Houla. Photos of the massacre soon appeared on Twitter: and on YouTube, videos of the slaughter, uploaded by anonymous “activists,” appeared on cue. There was just one problem with this “evidence” of a massacre committed by the Syrian government – much of it was completely made up.

Take the photo the BBC used to illustrate the atrocity: it showed a young boy jumping over piles of corpses neatly laid out in preparation for burial. Very dramatic, and very disturbing – except it wasn’t a photo of anything that happened in Houla. Instead, it was a photo taken by Marco Di Lauro in Iraq, in 2003, and appropriated from his web site. The stolen photo was accompanied by a caption that read:


continued.

The Houla Hoaxsters by Justin Raimondo -- Antiwar.com

 

[sharon]

BBC Caught In Syria Massacre Propaganda Hoax

More on the hoax........

 

[gunner]

So who were the independent UN monitor's on the scene?

Paul

 

[Aunt Spiker]

So - it was all fake? Or just that one photo was used as such and that journalism dishonesty has cast a shadow of doubt?

 

[sharon]

So who were the independent UN monitor's on the scene?

Paul

I have no idea...........

 

[sharon]

So - it was all fake? Or just that one photo was used as such and that journalism dishonesty has cast a shadow of doubt?

I'd say it was deliberate because the caption said Houla children awaiting burial or something like that.

 

[DaveFagan]

I'd say it was deliberate because the caption said Houla children awaiting burial or something like that.

I thnk the UN, NATO, and the "Mighty Wurlitzer" are playing us like fools. There are agent provacatuers operating in Syria trying to build a media case against Assad's gov't. It has the look similar to the same operation in Libya. Only fools could believe the Syrian stories. Better find some real Syrian media. You know "fool me once," etc.

 

[sharon]

I thnk the UN, NATO, and the "Mighty Wurlitzer" are playing us like fools. There are agent provacatuers operating in Syria trying to build a media case against Assad's gov't. It has the look similar to the same operation in Libya. Only fools could believe the Syrian stories. Better find some real Syrian media. You know "fool me once," etc.

I have doubts about the Syrian Media being more honest or accurate.

Rumors are flying in the ME... about babies in incubators.

How CNN helped spread a hoax about Syrian babies dying in incubators | The Electronic Intifada

 

[Wiggen]

Just look at the source for all of this garbage, people. And we have one poster suggesting we only rely on material from the Syrian media!

 

[DaveFagan]

Just look at the source for all of this garbage, people. And we have one poster suggesting we only rely on material from the Syrian media!

My point being. If you want to know what is happening in Canada, ask a Canadian. If you wnat to know what is going on in Italy, ask an Italian. Don't ask NATO. Don't ask the UN. Don't ask CNN, ABC, NBC, or FauxNEWS. Since we, the USA axis seem to be the ones stirring the pot in the ME, i.e., Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Iran, then we are suspect of having an "agenda." Ergo, news from this source would likely be biased. Call a Syrian on the phone and ask him "how they hangin' bubba, what's goin' on, what's the general populist feeling?"

 

[Wiggen]

What a terrific idea! Call people in other countries - especially those with no freedom of speech or the press and no political freedom - and ask them to tell us what's happening. Why hasn't anybody thought of this before? You, sir, are a frickin' genius!

 

[DaveFagan]

What a terrific idea! Call people in other countries - especially those with no freedom of speech or the press and no political freedom - and ask them to tell us what's happening. Why hasn't anybody thought of this before? You, sir, are a frickin' genius!

Delighted that you noticed. I'll see about getting you a phone book and you can get started on ingrown phone. That'd be the same oppressive, repressive, Syria that 4 million Iraqi refugees were allowed to move in to whilst the good ol' USA was killin', maimin', an dislocating the whole country because Saddam might have been a no good, downright bad guy with nasty progeny or he was sittin' on one helluva bunch of OIL. Keep OIL distribution in mind when talking about Syria. OH, no. no and no! Not OIL again. Broken record or the same old story. Pick one. Give me a hint who the good guys are. My soothsayer suggests that big money rules the roost. You know, the one with the gold makes the rules and we, as a 1% Nation, represent the gold. I'm sure that Assad can't be any good because he's too tall. US educated even. All bs aside. In the ME, it would appear that only a strong, heavy handed leader can survive and give his constituency direction. I don't think Assad is guilty of any atrocities, but on the other hand, I don't think he is another Dalai Lama.

 

[CJ 2.0]

My point being. If you want to know what is happening in Canada, ask a Canadian. If you wnat to know what is going on in Italy, ask an Italian. Don't ask NATO. Don't ask the UN. Don't ask CNN, ABC, NBC, or FauxNEWS. Since we, the USA axis seem to be the ones stirring the pot in the ME, i.e., Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Iran, then we are suspect of having an "agenda." Ergo, news from this source would likely be biased. Call a Syrian on the phone and ask him "how they hangin' bubba, what's goin' on, what's the general populist feeling?"

totally. Just the other day I was wondering how things were going in North Korea. I called up my new good buddy Kim ... something and asked him what the deal was.

Incidentally, if you are curious, things are totally awesome there. So good, in fact, that I recently bought a condo in downtown Pyongyang.

PM me if you want in on one, cause accoriding to Kim they are going quick.

Yeah, apparently things there are FANTASTIC now that the New Dear Leader (TM) has taken over, even though all North Koreans still feel the recent death of the Old Dear Leader (TM) as a festering wound that will never heal.

 

[Mr. Invisible]

The BBC's use of an Iraq photo in an article about the Houla massacre is correct. (BBC News uses 'Iraq photo to illustrate Syrian massacre' - Telegraph) While many may argue that it is a mistake, this seems to be quite false as one cannot mix up Iraq and Syria.

Most interestingly, according to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Houla massacre killed people who were loyal to the Assad regime. (Neue Erkenntnisse zu Getöteten von Hula: Abermals Massaker in Syrien - Politik - FAZ) [See translated version here]

However, it must be noted that "For its account of the massacre, the report cites opponents of Assad, who, however, declined to have their names appear in print out of fear of reprisals from armed opposition groups." (Blog: Were Syrian rebels behind Houla massacre?)

This story just goes to show that it is quite hard to know exactly what is going on in Syria with any hard accuracy. Please note, I am not saying that the massacre didn't occur, just that it is hard to know what is currently going on in Syria.

 

[sharon]

The BBC's use of an Iraq photo in an article about the Houla massacre is correct. (BBC News uses 'Iraq photo to illustrate Syrian massacre' - Telegraph) While many may argue that it is a mistake, this seems to be quite false as one cannot mix up Iraq and Syria.

Most interestingly, according to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Houla massacre killed people who were loyal to the Assad regime. (Neue Erkenntnisse zu Getöteten von Hula: Abermals Massaker in Syrien - Politik - FAZ) [See translated version here]

However, it must be noted that "For its account of the massacre, the report cites opponents of Assad, who, however, declined to have their names appear in print out of fear of reprisals from armed opposition groups." (Blog: Were Syrian rebels behind Houla massacre?)

This story just goes to show that it is quite hard to know exactly what is going on in Syria with any hard accuracy. Please note, I am not saying that the massacre didn't occur, just that it is hard to know what is currently going on in Syria.

Agreed................

 

[Mira]

Don't get too excited about it. I have been working in the field of photojournalism for the past 28 years, so take my word for it or don't.

The picture by Mario De Lauro began circulating on twitter shortly after the massacres of Hula. The BBC picked it up as a photo taken by a citizen journalist and used it on their web site, mentioning that the source is not reliable. After the killing of several journalists in Syria (including 3 close friends of mine) no Western journalists have been risking going there, so the press often relies on citizen journalists.

The mistake was very quickly noticed by De Lauro and Getty Images (who syndicate Mario's photos), the BBC was notified, the picture was removed and a letter of apology published.

The picture was not picked up from Lauro's web site as the OP indicates. Photos are readily available on the web and it was the person who used it on twitter who's responsible of the hoax, probably by mistake and by typing key words. Some very graphic images were released from Hula, all of them taken by citizen journalists, many of them through social networks, and the BBC picked this one for it's powerful content without being gory at the same time. Unfortunately, when professional journalists are denied access to hot news spots, this kind of mistakes are bound to happen.

 

[sharon]

Good to know... thanks.

Don't get too excited about it. I have been working in the field of photojournalism for the past 28 years, so take my word for it or don't.

The picture by Mario De Lauro began circulating on twitter shortly after the massacres of Hula. The BBC picked it up as a photo taken by a citizen journalist and used it on their web site, mentioning that the source is not reliable. After the killing of several journalists in Syria (including 3 close friends of mine) no Western journalists have been risking going there, so the press often relies on citizen journalists.

The mistake was very quickly noticed by De Lauro and Getty Images (who syndicate Mario's photos), the BBC was notified, the picture was removed and a letter of apology published.

The picture was not picked up from Lauro's web site as the OP indicates. Photos are readily available on the web and it was the person who used it on twitter who's responsible of the hoax, probably by mistake and by typing key words. Some very graphic images were released from Hula, all of them taken by citizen journalists, many of them through social networks, and the BBC picked this one for it's powerful content without being gory at the same time. Unfortunately, when professional journalists are denied access to hot news spots, this kind of mistakes are bound to happen.