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Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media

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The Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (SPM) is a controversial group of academics and activists whose stated purpose is to study propaganda and information operations surrounding the Syrian civil war.[1] It was formed by environmental political theory professor Tim Hayward and former academic Piers Robinson in 2017.[2][3][4]

Activities

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The group has gained attention and attracted criticism for disputing the veracity of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War as well as for its claims that the Syrian White Helmets civil defence organisation has staged false flag attacks in order to trigger Western retaliation against the Syrian government.[5][6][7]

The group has produced a number of reports.[1] The SPM's first publication, entitled, "Doubts about 'Novichoks'," questioned whether Russia's secret nerve agent programme – through which Novichok chemical weapons were developed – had ever existed.[2]

In subsequent publications, the SPM has argued that the 2018 Douma chemical attack was faked by the White Helmets civil defence organisation.[8] The SPM report accused Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the former head of Britain's Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, of being an agent working on behalf of a British covert influence programme.[9]

According to Bellingcat, the group used other entities such as Berlin Group 21 (BG21)[further explanation needed] as their front for publishing "statements of concern".[10][11] In October 2019, a former Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) employee later identified as Brendan Whelan presented his dissent with the OPCW's findings about the investigation of the Douma chemical attack. Members of the Courage Foundation who attended included Kristinn Hrafnsson, Jose Bustani, Helmut Lohre and Gunter Meyer.[12][13] Courage Foundation published the Statement of Concern at the same time as "Berlin Group 21".[14][15][16] Whelan later leaked OPCW documents to WikiLeaks.[17][18]

Controversies

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In early 2018, The Times newspaper ran a series of articles critical of the SPM, in which it said the group intentionally spreads "disinformation" in support of the government of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War and "conspiracy theories promoted by Russia".[2][19][20] The Times described the group's members as "apologists for Assad" and likened them to Holocaust deniers.[2][21][20] In response, the SPM said that its members have a shared interest in "investigating the 'information operations' (...) associated with the Syrian conflict" and stressed that "the Working Group does not take any position for or against the Syrian government."[22]

A March 2018 BBC News article stated that the SPM had, "echoed [...] Russian disinformation narratives," in a number of publications by suggesting that the governments of the United States and United Kingdom had a motive to kill Russian dissident Sergei Skripal in order to prevent him from testifying in a libel case against former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele.[23] The view of the UK government is that Skripal, a former Russian spy, was poisoned by Russian secret service agents.[24]

In 2019, The Huffington Post wrote that SPM "reported on the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, chemical attacks in Syria and a British organisation that counters Russian propaganda but its findings have been described by experts as “speculation”, “distortion” and “in the realm of conspiracy theorists”". It quoted Kristyan Benedict, a crisis response manager for Amnesty International UK, who accused SPM of promoting conspiracy theories and denying war crimes. It also noticed that SPM cofounder Piers Robinson is a 9/11 truther.[25]

In 2021, Commission for International Justice and Accountability [fr] (CIJA) reported on its sting operation targeting SPM member Paul McKeigue, in which CIJA posed over email as a Russian agent named "Ivan." McKeigue corresponded with "Ivan" over the course of several months, believing that he was communicating with Russian secret services. According to CIJA, SPM attempted to coordinate with Russian diplomats including Alexander Shulgin, Russia's ambassador to the Netherlands, on publications about Syria. The report also stated that McKeigue obtained legal advice from Melinda Taylor, one of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's personal lawyers, on how to make litigious claims against the OPCW which McKeigue referred to as "lawfare", a term generally used to describe frivolous or harassing litigation. McKeigue and Taylor also discussed promoting claims of fraud against CIJA.[26][11]

According to CIJA, its "investigation revealed that, far from being fringe conspiracists, these revisionists, employed by some of the UK’s top universities, were collaborating with Russian diplomats in four countries; were willing to co-operate with presumed Russian security agents to advance their agenda and to attack their opponents; were co-ordinating dissemination of disinformation with bloggers, alternative media and Russian state media; appeared to be planning the doxxing of survivors of chemical attacks; and admitted to making up sources and facts when necessary to advance their cause."[27]

Members

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Members of the SPM include:

Members of its advisory board have included:

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "About". Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Keate, Georgie; Kennedy, Dominic; Shveda, Krystina; Haynes, Deborah (14 April 2018). "Apologists for Assad working in British universities". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  3. ^ Kennedy, Dominic (12 June 2020). "Conspiracy theories spread by academics with university help - News". The Times. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d York, Chris (29 January 2020). "The 'Useful Idiots': How These British Academics Helped Russia Deny War Crimes At The UN". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  5. ^ "'We were their only hope'". De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch). 12 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Mysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda". PBS NewsHour. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Syria: on academic freedom and responsibility". openDemocracy. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Mysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda". PBS NewsHour. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  9. ^ Loyd, Anthony (4 September 2020). "Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the Iraq veteran on the front line of the war against chemical weapons in Syria - Magazine". The Times. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Berlin Group 21, 'Ivan's' Emails and Chemical Weapons Conspiracy Theories". bellingcat. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  11. ^ a b "How an Email Sting Operation Unearthed a pro-Assad Conspiracy—and Russia's Role In It". Newlines Magazine. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  12. ^ Whitaker, Brian (15 February 2023). "A Notorious Syria Conspiracy Theory Is Definitively Debunked". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  13. ^ Team, Bellingcat Investigation (26 October 2020). "Unpublished OPCW Douma Correspondence Casts Further Doubt on Claims of 'Doctored' Report". bellingcat. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Statement of Concern: The OPCW investigation of alleged chemical weapons use in Douma, Syria | Courage Foundation". 10 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Additional Background Information (provided by the Berlin Group 21) Regarding the OPCW FFM Investigation of the Alleged Chemical Attack in Douma, April 7, 2018 | Courage Foundation". 10 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  16. ^ Waters, Nick (14 May 2021). "Berlin Group 21, 'Ivan's' Emails and Chemical Weapons Conspiracy Theories". bellingcat. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  17. ^ Weiss, Michael; Goldsmith, Jett (20 April 2021). "How an Email Sting Operation Unearthed a pro-Assad Conspiracy—and Russia's Role In It". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  18. ^ Goldsmith, Michael Weiss, Jett (20 April 2021). "Syria Chemical-Attack Deniers Admit Links to WikiLeaks and Russia". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 February 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Blanchard, Georgie; Keate, Sam (28 May 2020). "To say Douma attack was staged is to enter an Orwellian world". The Times. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  20. ^ a b Webster, Ben (16 April 2018). "Academics accused of speaking for Assad condemn Syria raids". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Assad's Useful Idiots". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Working Group Response to Smears". Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  23. ^ Hadjimatheou, Chloe (26 March 2021). "The UK professor and the fake Russian agent". BBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Sergei Skripal: former Russian spy poisoned with nerve agent, say police". the Guardian. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  25. ^ Chris York (28 February 2019). "A UK Thinktank That Examines Propaganda Just Recruited A Pro-Russian Propagandist". The Huffington Post.
  26. ^ Goldsmith, Michael Weiss, Jett (20 April 2021). "Syria Chemical Attack Deniers Admit Links to WikiLeaks and Russia". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 April 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Jelacic, Nerma (2021). "Spinning bomb". Index on Censorship. 50 (2): 16–23. doi:10.1177/03064220211033782. S2CID 236179842.
  28. ^ York, Chris (20 February 2021). "Jewish Students 'Intimidated' By Professor's Comments As Williamson Defends 'Free Speech'". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  29. ^ York, Chris (28 February 2019). "A UK Thinktank That Examines Propaganda Just Recruited A Pro-Russian Propagandist". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  30. ^ Kennedy, Dominic (10 April 2020). "British academics sharing coronavirus conspiracy theories online - News". The Times. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  31. ^ Hammond, Philip (17 April 2018). "Syria: stop asking questions!". openDemocracy. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
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