An apparent scoop from one of CNN’s star reporters has received a backlash from Syrian and raised concerns that disinformation in the media could undermine the testimony of Assad’s regime victims.

Clarissa Ward, an award-winning correspondent for the US network, appeared to discover a prisoner in a regime prison while searching for missing American journalist Austin Tice in a report that aired on December 11.

The prisoner, who identified himself as Adel Gharbal from the city of Homs, appeared overcome with emotion at being freed – mirroring scenes from across the country as thousands were freed from brutal regime facilities as rebels took control.

The video received millions of views online and was shared by prominent public figures. Ward said: “In almost 20 years as a journalist, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have seen.”

But the clip also met with skepticism, particularly from Syrians. Filmmaker Hassan Akkad, who was imprisoned by the Assad regime, raised concerns that the cell and the inmate appeared too clean, and that he was in unusually good condition.

On December 15, Syrian media and fact-checking group, Verify-Sy, published an investigation casts doubt on the report titled “CNN Farmed on ‘Freeing a Prisoner from a Secret Jail’ Story.”

The authors provided no evidence of intentional dishonesty by the network. But they claimed to have established the prisoner’s true identity through local sources: Salama Mohammad Salama aka Abu Hamza, a notorious thug for the regime’s intelligence services who was involved in numerous abuses. Sources said he was in prison for a “dispute over the sharing of profits from extorted funds.”

The Verify-Sy account sparked an online backlash from Syrians against Ward and CNN.

“The Syrians are closely monitoring every report published and will expose and challenge any story that misleads the public and does not respect the suffering of real victims,” ​​said Abdo Jabassini, a Syrian academic at the European University Institute in Italy.

“Clarissa Ward should resign or be fired, and Western media should learn from the many Syrian journalists who have done amazing work under the most dangerous conditions,” wrote Syrian author Robin Yassin-Kassab.

Critics noted other recent CNN missteps, such as a report by correspondent Nic Robertson from Gaza which was repeated the Israeli military’s false claim that an Arabic-language calendar was a ruse for Hamas militants guarding Israeli hostages.

The I paper understands that Robertson was quickly reassigned afterward and that there are internal concerns that controversies involving star reporters are casting a shadow over the network’s output.

CNN said its team in Syria acted with integrity and the incident was not a set-up, but acknowledged the prisoner could have lied and said an investigation was underway.

“No one other than the CNN team was aware of our plans to visit the prison building featured in our report that day,” a spokesperson said. “The events occurred as they appear in our film. The decision to release the prisoner in our report was made by the guard – a Syrian rebel.”

“We reported the scene as it unfolded, including what the inmate told us, with clear attribution. We have since investigated his background and are aware that he may have provided a false identity. We are continuing our reporting on this and the wider story. “

Rami Magharbeh, a spokesperson for Verify-Sy, did not suggest the incident was deliberately fabricated but questioned CNN’s methods.

“We appreciate having international reporters and outlets in Syria after decades of disinformation under regime control,” he said The I paper. “But the problem is the sources of information – they have to contact Syrian reporters.”

“We were surprised that an international media outlet like CNN would fall for this kind of disinformation. Even before our investigation, it was clearly false. Even children in Syria would know that the report is false.”

Verify-Sy is working through dozens of reports and a flood of disinformation every day since the ouster of Assad, Magharbeh said, some of which he believes are intended to obscure the regime’s crimes.

“We are facing a terrible situation of misinformation and disinformation,” he said. “We need to focus and highlight the facts, not only for the people but also for justice and accountability.”

“The Assad regime has so far tried to spread disinformation to say that all news is fake, and this is a real problem because we have prisons and people who have suffered for decades from this regime and we have to tell the truth.”

Rami Jarrah, a Syrian journalist and former anti-regime activist, said there was a wider problem with journalists parachuting into countries during dramatic events without detailed local knowledge

“Syria has a lot of context that requires a journalist covering it to have some understanding,” he said. “When Syria becomes a hot topic, as it has for the last three weeks, you get a lot of journalists covering issues that they don’t have a lot of background on.”

“That’s OK – you can’t tell journalists not to be involved. But then fact-checking becomes very important.”