Syria’s deposed president Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia with his family after a rebel coalition invaded Damascus and overthrew his government, but clips circulating on social media do not show him and his wife arriving in Moscow on December 8 . was taken when the couple attended the 2023 Asian Games in Eastern China.
“On the afternoon of December 8, Moscow local time, former Syrian President Bashar and his wife arrived safely at the Four Seasons Hotel in Moscow, Russia, to start their new lives,” said a simplified Chinese Weibo post on December 9. , 2024.
The eight-second clip shows Assad’s wife, Asma al-Assad, putting a pin on his collar and the couple drinking tea at a wooden table.
Screenshot of the fake Weibo post captured on December 19, 2024
The video surfaced shortly after Assad fled to Moscow on December 8 after a shocking rebel advance ended half a century of rule by his family, marked by repression and accusations of widespread human rights abuses and civil war (archived link).
His departure came more than thirteen years after his crackdown on anti-democracy protests sparked a civil war.
Russia was Assad’s main backer and had come to his aid in 2015, turning the tide of the conflict.
Screenshots of the clips were shared hundreds of times, alongside similar claims on Weibo here, here and here, as well as on X here.
But the videos are old and were shot in China in 2023.
Visit to China
A reverse image search on Google and subsequent keyword searches on
The caption said the video shows Assad and his wife Asma before an official lunch hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip in the fake messages (left) and the footage posted by SANA (right):
Screenshot comparison of the clip in the fake messages (left) and the images posted by SANA (right)
A Chinese journalist affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, Shen Shiwei, also uploaded the same video on X in September 2023, saying the couple attended a welcome banquet for the Asian Games in Hangzhou hosted by Xi (archived link).
Keyword searches of AFP’s archives found a September 23, 2023 photo of the Assads at the Asian Games, showing Asma wearing the same dress seen in the second clip circulating in the fake reports (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the snippet in the fake messages (left) and the AFP photo (right):
Screenshot comparison of the clip in the fake messages (left) and the AFP photo (right)
Subsequent keyword searches on Google found a photo published by the state-affiliated Zhejiang Daily in an article about the tea served in the guest lounge during the Asian Games, showing the same tea set and wooden table as in the image of Assad and his woman who were drinking. tea (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image showing the Assads tasting tea (left) and the image published by Chinese media (right), with the corresponding elements highlighted by AFP:
Screenshot comparison of the image showing the Assads tasting tea (left) and the image published by Chinese media (right)
AFP has debunked other false reports allegedly sharing “first images” of Assad in Moscow here.
