UK Recruited Citizen Journalists in Syria for Propaganda War

The United Kingdom is said to have built a network of citizen journalists across war-torn Syria to spew propaganda in the region.

Details of the UK government’s alleged red herring campaign aimed at distorting people’s perceptions of the war, was first published by Middle East Eye (MEE) in February.

While the propaganda initiative began in 2012, efforts were stepped up in 2013 after the UK parliament refused to authorize British military action in Syria.

On May 11, MEE published what it calls a “scathing” internal review of the programs being conducted under the UK’s “illegal” Operation Volute.

The “Review” Obtained by Middle East Eye:

Euphemistically dubbed “Strategic Communications,” the work included promoting the UK’s interests in Syria and the Middle East. A review carried out in 2016 found that London’s grand plans weren’t exactly as effective as envisioned-  it concluded that the “fundamental shortcomings” of the initiative included “no conflict analysis [and] no target audience analysis.”

The contractors were pumping out so much content that they created “a constellation of media outlets,” where Syrian audiences and activists “got lost and were distracted.”

The review noted some men lost their lives in the course of the work, a couple of UK rules may have been broken, and a few projects were designed to “impress” the government. The report also pointed to a “duplication” of efforts and warned of possible “reputational damage” to the British government if its funding of the programs was revealed.

The result was that “people no longer knew who or what to believe,” MEE said.

The review examined two programs that were managed by a unit within the MoD called Military Strategic Effects (MSE), and two managed by a group within the UK foreign office called the Counter-Daesh Communications Cell.

A fifth was managed by a Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) which aims to tackle conflicts that threaten UK interests.

Four of the programs were outsourced to British communications companies, some of them run by former army officers or intelligence officers. These companies set up offices in Istanbul and Amman, where they recruited Syrians to carry out much of the day-to-day work. A fifth was outsourced to a polling company based in the United States.

The five programs were intended to amplify the work of Syrian citizen journalists; bolster "moderate armed opposition" groups, counter violent extremism; and encourage dissent among members of Syria’s Alawite communities, from which the ruling Assad family comes.

The budget for the projects in 2015-16 came to £9.6 million – and more was earmarked for future work.