Syria’s coastal violence unleashes a wave of killing and a deluge of fake news

On March 6, armed fighters loyal to former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad launched an attack on Syria's interim-government troops in Latakia. Syrian authorities, supported by pro-government militias, promptly counter-attacked, causing violence that rapidly spread to other governorates across the country's coastal towns.

Despite the widespread violence, the attacks remained targeted. The Alawite community, historically associated with the Assad regime, became the primary victims of retaliatory attacks. Civilians in Alawite-majority areas faced targeted violence, displacement, and reprisals, further deepening sectarian tensions.

These deadly escalations have not only resulted in significant casualties but have also led to intense debates about the complex realities on the ground and the reliability of information emerging from the newly liberated country.

The violence in Syria continues to play out physically and in the information space, where competing narratives, propaganda and disinformation run rampant. The Syrian Ministry of Information has issued warnings against the spread of falsehoods, while independent non-governmental organisations inside and outside of Syria have been working tirelessly to document and verify human rights violations, and debunk the deluge of fake news circulating online.

Social media platforms are brimming with conflicting reports, misleading images and footage and false claims of deaths, some of which have been debunked by the very people reportedly dead.

The first casualties

The first target of disinformation is usually always casualty count, and as is the case with most campaigns spreading false information, exaggerating those figures is a first point of call.

Varying accounts across X, Facebook and other social media platforms have spread claims that up to 7,000 Christians and Alawites were killed in Syria over a two-day period. This was fake news.

By 10 March, the SOHR, a war monitor that has tracked and verified Syrian casualties since 2011, reported that more than 973 civilians had been killed, the majority of whom were Alawites, though some were Muslim and Christian. However, the organisation has faced criticism recently for not accurately verifying casualty numbers.

Another Syrian war monitor, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), released a preliminary report categorising the casualties as follows:

• Pro-Assad gunmen killed 172 interim-government troops and 211 civilians.
• Interim-government-linked troops, including foreign factions, killed 369 civilians.
• The documented casualties were recorded in Latakia, Tartous, Hama and Homs provinces.

The number of pro-Assad-affiliated gunmen killed remains unknown, as organisations like SNHR do not document the deaths of non-state armed group members, who under international law are not considered unlawful killings.

Documented cases of misinformation

One notable case of disinformation emerged at the height of the clashes when a young man named Ayham discovered false reports of his death circulating online. He responded by posting a video debunking claims that he was killed in Latakia and clarifying that he is alive, from Homs, Sunni and not a pharmacist as the misinformation post had claimed. The false reports originated from an anonymous X account (@george_khori), which has published hundreds of similar misleading posts.

Another instance involved Sahar Shaba, whose photo was widely shared with captions falsely claiming she had been killed by “terrorist Jolani forces”. Ms Shaba, an American citizen from Nevada who is Iraqi originally, took to social media to demand the removal of the false posts from X.

There have also been attempts to attribute past crimes committed by troops of the Assad regime to recent events. A 2013 massacre in Tartous, where civilians were summarily executed, has been falsely linked to the current situation, a claim debunked by the Syrian-led verification misinformation tracker.

Targeting minorities

The weaponisation of disinformation against minorities is not new in Syria. Mr Al Assad has long been accused of using sectarian divisions to consolidate power, and the recent coastal attacks once again highlight how misinformation networks, particularly on X and Facebook, exploit religious identities.

Verify-Sy, an independent fact-checking organisation focused on Syria, debunked a viral video claiming to show an Alawite family being executed by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham. The footage actually depicted Israeli troops attacking a family in Aitaroun, southern Lebanon, in January 2025.

Alawites in Syria have been particularly vulnerable in the new Syria due to Mr Al Assad’s family connection to the sect. This has made them a prime target for fake news.

But it is not just Alawites - Christians too have become a target of disinformation. A post circulated on the pro-Assad Facebook page Latakia News, which alleged that Syrian troops executed a Christian priest named Yohanna Yousesef Boutros. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese denied this, confirming the story was fabricated.

Meanwhile, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East reported that areas under attack were primarily inhabited by Alawites and Christians. Many innocent civilians were forcibly displaced, shot and killed, their homes and belongings looted. However, the Church did not specify who was responsible for these killings.

Western far-right Christian influencers have also been accused of amplifying sectarian tension. Observers note an increase in their engagement with Syria-related disinformation, exploiting the crisis to push divisive narratives.

Foreign actors' role in Syria’s disinformation

A continuing analysis by The National has revealed a vast network of bot accounts that are spreading disinformation. These accounts appear to have various affiliations, some Israeli, others loyal to the Assad regime, and some claiming Iraqi, Lebanese or Kurdish identities. Their primary aim appears to be amplifying false narratives to justify foreign interventions or support separatist projects.

Bassam Alahmad, co-founder and executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), commented on the widespread involvement of foreign actors in Syria’s disinformation war: “There are a lot of people involved in disinformation. No single group or outlet is responsible. Countries play a negative role, Turkey pushes one narrative, Iran another because they don’t want the truth to be told.”

Mr Alahmad also pointed out how sectarian agendas are being deliberately promoted: “For example, accounts close to Hezbollah and Iran have framed the conflict as a Sunni-Alawite war. This misinformation will continue to play a role unless independent media steps in.”

He also points to a lack of independence from the current government's media channels and journalists who “who refuse to refer to the recent killings as a massacre but refer to them as ‘security breaches’, downplaying the amount of bloodshed and casualties”.

Zouhir Al Shimale from Verify-Sy observed similar patterns of foreign influence among far-right Christian influencers and Israeli accounts: “We have observed that far-right Christian influencers and Israeli accounts have become notably active in disseminating false narratives about the plight of minorities in Syria. This trend aligns with broader efforts by these groups to influence western perceptions of the Middle East conflicts, positioning themselves as defenders of persecuted minorities. This strategic positioning is often intended to garner political and financial support from western allies, influence foreign policy, and create a favourable image of their interventions or stances in the region's complex sociopolitical landscape.”

The challenge of separating fact from fiction

Despite the flood of disinformation, something Mr Al Assad has historically used as a propaganda tool, credible images and footage from recent massacres continue to emerge, nonetheless requiring careful verification.

As the situation unfolds, distinguishing fact from fiction remains a critical challenge for journalists, for humanitarian organisations and, most crucially, for Syrians navigating safety and security in a changing Syria.