Travel YouTube streams to Syria, critics say Assad’s regime is whitewashed

Unstoppable by the epidemic, travel influencers are flocking to Syria at any rate this year, giving fans an unusual insight into the war-torn country.

But while the creators at the same time criticized President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal rule, activists often recklessly described the government’s civil war narrative.

It was impossible to enter Syria as a tourist for ten years, but after the 2019 Syrian conflict subsided, adventurous tourists and YouTube makers returned – until COVID-19 arrived. You are now in a hurry.

At least 10 major individuals, including Simon Wilson, “Baldness and Loss” star Benjamin Rich, Janet Newham and Gokan Pulidim, have traveled to Syria in the last 12 months alone.

In the videos, YouTube users travel by car to Syria, meet locals and visit government-controlled heritage sites such as Homs and Damascus, where they are taught history.

Almost all content creators who have visited Syria have refrained from commenting on the civil war, with many praising the Syrian people warmly and saying that their attitude towards the country has changed for the better. Wilson and Rich did not respond to a request from an insider.

“There are a lot of YouTube users who are trying to grow. It’s a business for them,” Ayub Morata, who is visiting the country, told Insider.

“The tourists are now young and mostly follow dark tourism. As long as everything is under control, the government will not worry about the arrival of YouTube users.”

“Next North Korea”

Entry into Syria as a tourist is primarily based on obtaining a security clearance from the country’s intelligence agency, which can only be purchased by visiting a Syrian travel company.

All of these companies need the approval of the Assad government to operate.

In their videos, many content creators say they have not met with government officials in Syria, but activists say the visits are far from government control and influence.

Janet Newham / YouTube

“Assad’s intelligence services will definitely monitor such visits,” Christine Benedict, Syria’s campaign manager for Amnesty International, told Inside.

“This includes guidance, transparent monitoring and direct support – primarily to ensure that these bloggers are presenting the image of Syria that the regime wants.”

According to Morata and Shane Horan, Rocky Road Travel Company will make regular visits to Syria, as long as foreign tourists are allowed to travel to Syria as long as they do not stay in government-controlled areas with their guides.

“Some roads and cities are restricted for security reasons and to ensure our safety, but there is no comment on customer preferences, travel plans or who we contact,” Horan said.

Citizens of many countries, including the United States, are barred from entering the country as tourists, and the use of drones – a key tool in modern travel – is also banned.

Activists say it is clear that most of the “instructions” on the backdrop of YouTube videos abroad are in the guise of the Syrian government. However, there is no clear evidence to support this claim.

– Muhammad al-Nazr (@M_Alneser) March 22, 2022

“You have noticed that people visiting Syria do not move freely between the regions of Syria.

Gokan Yildirim / YouTube

“In fact, you will be monitored 24/7,” Syrian False Expert Sophie Fullerton told Inside.

“People on these tours may believe they are free to do what they want, but they are free to do whatever they want in government-controlled places. They will never see these bloggers in Idlib,” she said. He named the area where Assad’s forces, which are controlled by the Syrian rebel group, are accused of committing several war crimes.

“Bloggers who have visited Syria are not telling the truth.”

It is clear that YouTube users who have recently traveled to Syria are giving a much-needed street view, which is often overlooked.

One of the creators of this type of content is Janet Newham, who visited the end of 2021 and won the most successful video in the country with 185,000 viewers.

“We will never hear about the Syrian people. We will hear about the war and how bad Bashar al-Assad is,” she told Insider recently.

“I’m trying to show 90% of my Western audience, what Syria looks like, because they know nothing about it.”

Newenham said it did not see any evidence that its guides had anything to do with Assad’s government or security forces.

Turkish YouTube player Gokan Peldimir, who visited in March, told Insider that he had nothing to do with the government and was going to Syria to study.

“I came in prejudiced but I saw something different in the news,” he said.

Mohammad Saeed / Anadolu Agency in Getty Images

Both Plderim and Newham were charged with abuse of power by the Assad regime or whitewashing.

Yilderim was criticized for posting a video of a tour guide’s claim that a building in Homs had been destroyed by “terrorists.”

“I later found out that some of the things I was told were false,” he told Inside, which he later corrected. “I was criticized a lot in my home video, but I was not criticized later [the edits] Because I have shown the truth.

Newenham has come under fire after repeating a similar claim made by its guide that it was destroyed by “terrorists” near the Homs Mosque.

“This is propaganda, ‘You shouldn’t have gone here,'” she told Insight. After that, Syria became the cause. “

Amnesty International’s campaign manager Benedict said: “Bloggers are incredibly embarrassing to share this sad fact on social media.”

“Millions of Syrians are still unable to return home because they fear arrest, torture and execution.”

Syrian human rights activist Mohamed al-Neser told Insider that foreign YouTube users are unknowingly part of the PR government being pushed by Assad’s government.

Photographer al-Mahlul said some bloggers “are not telling the truth but are whitewashing and lying.”

In some cases, foreign tourists who visited the country before the 2011 civil war, as usual, censored YouTube users to avoid offending the government.

“The same pattern can be repeated by censorship to prevent bloggers and tourists from falling prey to Assad’s known spying services,” he said.

I am trying to show 90% of my Western audience what Syria looks like. Janet Newham

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Similarly, companies that support YouTube-made videos in Syria, As a VPN provider provider, surfboard In April, Rich’s sponsor was also criticized. Surfarkark accepted Insider’s comment but did not respond.

At times, most content creators who visit places like Syria have been criticized for their dark tourism, their actions in a special place on the way to dangerous places.

“I wanted to go to Homs and Aleppo,” Newham told Insider, citing two Syrian cities destroyed in the fighting. “It’s definitely a little dark tourism.”

With Syria’s growing tourist destination popular and Assad’s government reopened, critics say the regime is working to change the country’s name – successfully.

“Because of the war, Syria has become the next North Korea,” Fullerton told Inside.

“People see Syria as a way to jump on the bandwagon, but it’s done.”