Fabrications by Syrian Activists

I have seen this fabrication video and the tire on fire many weeks ago, but no one bothered to report on it in the Western press because only one side in Syria is being covered.  Austin sent me this: "Here's something you'll be interested in (and I'm pretty sure you haven't posted it before; if so, I will throw a tantrum). It's a preview of a documentary of a French journalist who goes by the name "Mani," who was "embedded" with rebels in Baba Amr (you have have seen an earlier video of his amazing, terrifying, and heartbreaking footage here). I certainly don't think that the opposition, especially the inside opposition, has the capacity to fabricate with the scale or audacity of the regime, but this goes to show that not everything is as it appears.
Here's a relevant passage:
"The report also spotlights how activists, in one instance, stage a video. In one scene, Mani catches Tellawi complaining to his colleagues that the section of Homs they’re reporting from is too far from the action. “We’ll need to set a tire on fire,” Tellawi says, in order to mimic smoke from battle. Then, Tellawi remembers that he’s being filmed and turns to Mani’s camera with a sheepish grin. Later in the day, Tellawi stands on a rooftop to record a video dispatch as smoke billows behind him. It’s a visually harrowing scene. Mani pans past Tellawi and traces the smoke to an alley below, where a tire is engulfed in flames."

Posted on April 25, 2012 by As'ad