FACT CHECK: No, Bashar al-Assad Did Not Announce He Is Starting His Own Podcast
A post on X claims that exiled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced the launch of his own podcast.
Bashar al-Assad took to social media Wednesday evening to announce the launch of his own podcast. pic.twitter.com/OnOfnf56ks
— RT America (@RTNewsAmerica) December 12, 2024
Verdict: False
There are no official social media accounts attributed to al-Assad, announcing this, nor any credible news outlets.
Fact Check:
Syrian rebels seized the Syrian capital of Damascus Dec. 8 following a years-long civil war and send President Bashar al-Assad fleeing for safety, according to Reuters. The former Syrian leader declared, through the Syrian presidency’s official Telegram account, that he never intended to do resign the presidency, Al-Jazeera reported. He claimed that “terrorist forces” entered the capital and forced him to flee, before arriving in Moscow where he and his family are currently seeking refuge, as Russia has offered them asylum on “humanitarian grounds,” according to The BBC.
The al-Assad family had been in power for over 50 years, and they have been accused of various crimes including torture, mass incarceration and more.
A post on X with over one million views claims that al-Assad has announced the launch of his own unnamed podcast via social media. This is completely unfounded, however. (RELATED: FACT CHECK: No, Clarence Thomas Hasn’t Announced That He Is Retiring on January 21)
There were no official statements made or attributed to al-Assad until Monday, December 16, a full week after the coup. Check Your Fact was unable to find any major news organizations reporting the launch of this podcast. There is no post announcing a podcast on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram account.
The account making the claim is known for fake news, and Check Your Fact has reported on various false claims made by them in the past. “RT America” on X is a troll account made to look like the now-defunct U.S. bureau of Russian state media outlet RT. The bio on the troll account’s X page calls itself a “parody artist,” along with other unprofessional claims.
