View source for Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media

{{Short description|Academic group researching Syrian War propaganda}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2021}}
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]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=25 January 2018|title=About|url=https://syriapropagandamedia.org/about|access-date=22 November 2020|website=Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media|language=en-US}}</ref> It was formed by environmental political theory professor [[Tim Hayward (political scientist)|Tim Hayward]] and former academic [[Piers Robinson]] in 2017.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last1=Keate|first1=Georgie|last2=Kennedy|first2=Dominic|last3=Shveda|first3=Krystina|last4=Haynes|first4=Deborah|author-link4=Deborah Haynes|date=14 April 2018|title=Apologists for Assad working in British universities|language=en|work=[[The Times]]|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/apologists-for-assad-working-in-british-universities-2f72hw29m|access-date=22 November 2020|issn=0140-0460}}</ref><ref name="Kennedy 2020 conspi">{{cite news | last=Kennedy | first=Dominic | title=Conspiracy theories spread by academics with university help - News | website=The Times | date=12 June 2020 | url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/conspiracy-theories-spread-by-academics-with-university-help-9g09xtc73 | access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="York 2020"/>
==Activities==
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 (Syrian Civil War)|White Helmets civil defence organisation]] has staged [[false flag]] attacks in order to trigger Western retaliation against the Syrian government.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title='We were their only hope'|url=https://www.groene.nl/artikel/we-were-their-only-hope|access-date=2021-11-04|website=De Groene Amsterdammer|date=12 September 2021 |language=nl}}</ref><ref name="PBS NewsHour 2019">{{cite web|date=24 December 2019|title=Mysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mysterious-death-of-white-helmets-co-founder-spotlights-toxic-propaganda|access-date=22 February 2021|website=PBS NewsHour}}</ref><ref name="openDemocracy">{{cite web|title=Syria: on academic freedom and responsibility|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/syria-on-academic-freedom-and-responsibility/|access-date=22 February 2021|website=openDemocracy}}</ref>
The group has produced a number of reports.<ref name=":1" /> The SPM's first publication, entitled, "Doubts about '[[Novichok]]s'," questioned whether Russia's secret nerve agent programme – through which Novichok chemical weapons were developed – had ever existed.<ref name=":2" />
In subsequent publications, the SPM has argued that the 2018 [[Douma chemical attack]] was faked by the [[White Helmets (Syrian Civil War)|White Helmets civil defence organisation]].<ref name="PBS">{{Cite web|date=24 December 2019|title=Mysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mysterious-death-of-white-helmets-co-founder-spotlights-toxic-propaganda|access-date=17 March 2020|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us}}</ref> 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 [[MI6|British covert influence]] programme.<ref name="Loyd 2020">{{cite news | last=Loyd | first=Anthony | title=Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the Iraq veteran on the front line of the war against chemical weapons in Syria - Magazine | website=The Times | date=4 September 2020 | url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hamish-de-bretton-gordon-the-iraq-veteran-on-the-front-line-of-the-war-against-chemical-weapons-in-syria-kfq7w76pm | access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref>
According to [[Bellingcat]], the group used other entities such as ''Berlin Group 21'' (BG21){{Explain|date=November 2021}} as their front for publishing "statements of concern".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-14|title=Berlin Group 21, 'Ivan's' Emails and Chemical Weapons Conspiracy Theories|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/05/14/berlin-group-21-ivans-emails-and-chemical-weapons-conspiracy-theories/|access-date=2021-11-04|website=bellingcat|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> 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]], [[José Bustani|Jose Bustani]], Helmut Lohre and [[Günter Meyer|Gunter Meyer]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitaker |first=Brian |date=2023-02-15 |title=A Notorious Syria Conspiracy Theory Is Definitively Debunked |url=https://newlinesmag.com/argument/a-notorious-syria-conspiracy-theory-is-definitively-debunked/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=New Lines Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Bellingcat Investigation |date=2020-10-26 |title=Unpublished OPCW Douma Correspondence Casts Further Doubt on Claims of 'Doctored' Report |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2020/10/26/unpublished-opcw-douma-correspondence-raises-doubts-about-transparency-of-opcw-leaks-promoters/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=bellingcat |language=en-GB}}</ref> Courage Foundation published the Statement of Concern at the same time as "Berlin Group 21".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-10 |title=Statement of Concern: The OPCW investigation of alleged chemical weapons use in Douma, Syria {{!}} Courage Foundation |url=https://couragefound.org/2021/03/statement-of-concern-the-opcw-investigation-of-alleged-chemical-weapons-use-in-douma-syria/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410152901/https://couragefound.org/2021/03/statement-of-concern-the-opcw-investigation-of-alleged-chemical-weapons-use-in-douma-syria/ |archive-date=10 April 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-10 |title=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 |url=https://couragefound.org/2021/03/additional-background-information-regarding-the-opcw-ffm-investigation-of-the-alleged-chemical-attack-in-douma-april-7-2018/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410135038/https://couragefound.org/2021/03/additional-background-information-regarding-the-opcw-ffm-investigation-of-the-alleged-chemical-attack-in-douma-april-7-2018/ |archive-date=10 April 2021 }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Waters |first=Nick |date=2021-05-14 |title=Berlin Group 21, 'Ivan's' Emails and Chemical Weapons Conspiracy Theories |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/05/14/berlin-group-21-ivans-emails-and-chemical-weapons-conspiracy-theories/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=bellingcat |language=en-GB}}</ref> Whelan later leaked OPCW documents to WikiLeaks.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last1=Weiss |first1=Michael |last2=Goldsmith |first2=Jett |date=2021-04-20 |title=How an Email Sting Operation Unearthed a pro-Assad Conspiracy—and Russia's Role In It |url=https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/how-an-email-sting-operation-unearthed-a-pro-assad-conspiracy-and-russias-role-in-it/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=New Lines Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldsmith |first=Michael Weiss, Jett |date=2021-04-20 |title=Syria Chemical-Attack Deniers Admit Links to WikiLeaks and Russia |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/syria-chemical-attack-deniers-admit-links-to-wikileaks-and-russia |access-date=2023-02-20}}</ref>
==Controversies==
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".<ref name=":2" /><ref name="times280520">{{cite news|last1=Blanchard|first1=Georgie|last2=Keate|first2=Sam|date=28 May 2020|title=To say Douma attack was staged is to enter an Orwellian world|language=en|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/professors-shut-down-debate-over-assad-s-chemical-attacks-n899fjdkm|access-date=6 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="times160418">{{Cite news|last=Webster|first=Ben|date=16 April 2018|title=Academics accused of speaking for Assad condemn Syria raids|language=en|newspaper=[[The Times]]|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/academics-speaking-for-assad-question-justification-for-raids-sm6qthxkx|access-date=22 November 2020|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> ''The Times'' described the group's members as "apologists for [[Assad Government|Assad]]" and likened them to [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust deniers]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Assad's Useful Idiots|language=en|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/assad-s-useful-idiots-hddlzn0vz|access-date=28 May 2020|issn=0140-0460}}</ref><ref name="times160418" /> 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."<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 June 2019|title=Working Group Response to Smears|url=https://syriapropagandamedia.org/public-statements-and-media-appearances/working-group-response-to-media-smears|access-date=22 November 2020|website=Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media|language=en-US}}</ref>
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]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hadjimatheou|first=Chloe|date=26 March 2021|title=The UK professor and the fake Russian agent|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56524550|access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref> The view of the [[Government of the United Kingdom|UK government]] is that Skripal, a former Russian spy, was [[Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal|poisoned by Russian secret service agents]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-08|title=Sergei Skripal: former Russian spy poisoned with nerve agent, say police|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/07/russian-spy-police-appeal-for-witnesses-as-cobra-meeting-takes-place|access-date=2021-08-20|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
In 2019, [[The Huffington Post]] wrote that SPM "reported on the [[poisoning of Sergei Skripal]], [[Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war|chemical attacks in Syria]] and a [[Integrity Initiative|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 truth movement|9/11 truther]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/vanessa-beeley-syria-piers-robinson_uk_5c570a53e4b08710475471a6|title=A UK Thinktank That Examines Propaganda Just Recruited A Pro-Russian Propagandist|author=Chris York|website=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=2019-02-28}}</ref>
In 2021, {{ill|Commission for International Justice and Accountability|fr|CIJA}} (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 [[Julian Assange|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.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldsmith|first=Michael Weiss, Jett|date=2021-04-20|title=Syria Chemical Attack Deniers Admit Links to WikiLeaks and Russia|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/syria-chemical-attack-deniers-admit-links-to-wikileaks-and-russia|access-date=2021-04-20}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2021-04-20|title=How an Email Sting Operation Unearthed a pro-Assad Conspiracy—and Russia's Role In It|url=https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/how-an-email-sting-operation-unearthed-a-pro-assad-conspiracy-and-russias-role-in-it/|access-date=2021-04-20|website=Newlines Magazine|language=en}}</ref>
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."<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/03064220211033782 | doi=10.1177/03064220211033782 | title=Spinning bomb | year=2021 | last1=Jelacic | first1=Nerma | journal=Index on Censorship | volume=50 | issue=2 | pages=16–23 | s2cid=236179842 }}</ref>
==Members==
Members of the SPM include:
* [[Tim Hayward (political scientist)|Tim Hayward]], environmental political theory professor, [[University of Edinburgh]]<ref name=":1"/>
* [[Piers Robinson]], former academic<ref name="York 2020">{{cite web | last=York | first=Chris | title=The 'Useful Idiots': How These British Academics Helped Russia Deny War Crimes At The UN | website=HuffPost UK | date=29 January 2020 | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-useful-idiots_uk_5e2b107ac5b67d8874b0dd9d | access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref>
* Michael Kobs (Independent Researcher)<ref name=":1"/>
* Adam Larson (Independent Researcher)<ref name=":1"/>
* [[David Miller (sociologist)|David Miller]], sociologist, [[University of Bristol]]<ref name="York 2021">{{cite web | last=York | first=Chris | title=Jewish Students 'Intimidated' By Professor's Comments As Williamson Defends 'Free Speech' | website=HuffPost UK | date=20 February 2021 | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jsoc-bristol-university-david-miller_uk_602bd532c5b680717eea7b39 | access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref>
* [[Paul McKeigue]], genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics professor<ref name="York 2020"/>
* Jan Oberg, Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research<ref name=":1"/>
* [[Vanessa Beeley]], activist and blogger<ref>{{cite news |last1=York |first1=Chris |title=A UK Thinktank That Examines Propaganda Just Recruited A Pro-Russian Propagandist |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/vanessa-beeley-syria-piers-robinson_uk_5c570a53e4b08710475471a6 |access-date=25 December 2020 |agency=Huffington Post UK |date=28 February 2019}}</ref>
* [[Tara McCormack]], international relations lecturer, [[University of Leicester]]<ref name="York 2020"/>
* Oliver Boyd-Barrett, professor emeritus, [[Bowling Green State University]]<ref name=":1"/>
* Carmen Renieri (Independent Researcher)<ref name=":1"/>
* Greg Simons, lecturer, Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, [[Uppsala University]]<ref name=":1"/>
* Florian Zollmann, [[Newcastle University]]<ref name=":1"/>
Members of its advisory board have included:
* [[Mark Crispin Miller]], professor of media studies, [[New York University]].<ref name="Kennedy 2020 corona">{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Dominic|date=10 April 2020|title=British academics sharing coronavirus conspiracy theories online - News|website=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-academics-sharing-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-online-v8nn99zmv|access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref>
* Philip Hammond, professor of media & communications, [[London South Bank University]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hammond |first1=Philip |title=Syria: stop asking questions! |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/syria-stop-asking-questions/ |website=openDemocracy |access-date=17 April 2022 |language=en |date=17 April 2018}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{official website|https://syriapropagandamedia.org/}}
{{Propaganda}}
{{Media manipulation}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Fake news]]
[[Category:Internet manipulation and propaganda]]
[[Category:Organizations of the Syrian civil war]]