PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2017-04-12 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Did the Daily Mail Delete a Story Reporting the U.S. Planned to Blame Assad for 'False Flag' Chemical Attacks? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • On 7 April 2017, conspiracy web site Truth Theory revived a now-deleted 2013 story by the British tabloid the Daily Mail (headlined, U.S. ‘backed plan to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad’s regime'). The article's republishing coincided with an American missile strike retaliating against a chemical attack by the Syrian government on civilians in rebel-held Khan Sheikhoun three days earlier. The Daily Mail article reported having evidence of an impending false flag attack. (A so-called false flag is a common conspiracy theory that asserts governments initiate crises — real or fabricated — to lay the groundwork for unpopular actions such as confiscating guns, or, in this case, removing a president from power.) Conspiracy web sites claimed the reason for the article's deletion was unclear, implying that forces intent on hiding a nefarious plot to oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad pressured the publication to do so. The Daily Mail article, originally published 29 January 2013, reported that U.S. officials had told a British defense company they had been given a green light for chemical weapons use in Syria that could then be blamed on Assad: The idea that the chemical attacks in Syria had been disguised to look like Assad's work, thus giving his adversaries cover to remove him from power, is a pervasive conspiracy theory that has been disseminated by the Assad-allied Russian government. On 11 April 2017, RT, a Kremlin-funded media outlet, quoted President Vladimir Putin airing that same claim: But Truth Theory and other sites that re-posted the old Daily Mail story failed to note that the article wasn't deleted due to pressure from an evil globalist cabal, but instead was taken down because the publication admitted it was untrue. The Daily Mail apologized to officials of Britam Defence and paid damages for libel after admitting the leaked e-mails were actually forged by a hacker. One of the fake e-mails read: Carter-Ruck, the law firm that represented the defense company, wrote in its Autumn 2013 newsletter of the case: The 18 April 2013 Daily Mail apology read: The Daily Mail's publisher paid £110,000 in damages to the firm. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url