Last Friday, Aljazeera posted an amateur video showing a mother crying over her dead child that the channel identified as Sary Saaoud. The mother was, naturally, in a hysterical state, while the person shooting the amateur video was narrating calmly, stating date and place, and accusing the Syrian army and security forces of killing the child.

Introducing the footage, Aljazeera announcer said the following:

“Some Internet websites posted a video showing a mother crying over a child not 10 years old, who was killed by the Syrian security forces in Bayada neighborhood in Homs earlier today.”

As you see, Aljazeera stated this as a fact. It did not use the usual disclaimer that the content could not be verified by an independent source, nor it attributed the accusations to activists in the Syrian revolution. It just stated “facts”, period.

Not only that this is not professional, but the same woman who appeared in the video, I mean the child’s mother, appeared later on the Syrian TV, in the same hysterical state, saying that her son was not killed by the Syrian army or security forces. In fact, she stated, while crying’ that her son would still be alive if the army was there.

But never mind the fact that the woman in the video denied Aljazeera’s claims, how can Aljazeera be sure? Why not use the disclaimer that every God damn news network uses when posting such content?

I extend my question to any journalist who respects their profession; do you think this is professional? I don’t! I think this is cheap propaganda.

This video shows Aljazeera’s report and the mother’s interview on the Syrian TV.

Written by Syria Tribune