A HuffPo 5-5-17 (propaganda) article… “Syria’s White Helmets Court Bernie Sanders… “…Illustrations of the propaganda in this one!

I’m not publishing the full article, just the parts that illustrate the “propaganda” points. This, of course, is from my viewpoint. But it certainly appears that Bernie and several others are continuing to drink the “Assad and his government are bad, White Helmets are angels” Kool Aid.

First off, I do not live in Syria, and I have no firsthand knowledge of the details what is and has been going on there. However, several others have, and have pointed out that the “White Helmets” is a created group that “looks nice”, but is actually quite different.

In this Kp blog post (from Sputnik, 12-11-16) for example, Freelance journalist Eva Bartlett pointed these things out:

[re: “international organizations on the ground”] “These organizations are relying on the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [SOHR], which is based in Coventry, UK, which is one man. They’re relying on compromised groups like the White Helmets.

“…the White Helmets… were founded in 2013 by a British ex-military officer, they have been funded to the tune of $100 million by the US, UK, Europe and other states.”

Then there’s this 4-6-17 article from VT, Swedish Medical Associations Says White Helmets Murdered Kids for Fake Gas Attack Videos, which points out (about the supposed Sarin gas attacks):

“Swedish Doctors For Human Rights (swedhr.org) analysed videos, the rescue after an alleged attack by Syrian government forces. The doctors found that the videos were counterfeit, where even Arabic stage directions were overheard, and that the alleged “Rescue” in actuality is a murder… None of the children in the videos showed any sign of being a victim of a chemical attack.“

For more VT information, here is a search link to “White Helmets” on VT.

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Propaganda points from, Syria’s White Helmets Court Bernie Sanders And Other New Friends

Note: Quotes are in italics, in sequential order. The referenced word or phrase is bolded. My response(s) to what is referenced is in brackets ([]).

[First sentences of article for reference] Representatives of the White Helmets, the Syrian humanitarian organization that’s estimated to have saved tens of thousands of lives, are used to visiting Washington. The group receives U.S. government assistance, and it’s been featured in an Oscar-winning Netflix documentary.

…Sanders told HuffPost. “The death and destruction taking place in Syria, and the brutality of the Assad regime is almost beyond belief. [Propaganda point: the “brutality” by “Assad regime” is assumed; no evidence presented.]

…conspiracy theories, misrepresentations and general wariness of the war have made serious talk about it in the U.S. increasingly difficult. [Propaganda point: any questioning of the MSM and US govt. narratives is “bad”, “wrong”, and is only done by “conspiracy nut jobs”.]

The congressman [Ro Khanna] faced a social media backlash after tweeting and posting on Facebook about his meeting, with commenters accusing him of cheering American intervention and of supporting a group that Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russia and others falsely portray as a terrorist front. [Propaganda point: “falsely” is just thrown in there. I’d say that’s the author’s “judgement”… or lack of it.]

[Khanna] slammed conspiracy theory talk about the White Helmets. [Propaganda point: any questioning of the MSM and US govt. narratives is “bad”, “wrong”, and is only done by “conspiracy nut jobs”.]

Volunteers ― people who were previously accountants, firefighters and bakers ― founded the [White Helmets] group in 2012 as civilian casualties began to increase in Syria. [Propaganda point: see the points from Eva Bartlett in this Sputnik article… “the White Helmets… were founded in 2013 by a British ex-military officer, they have been funded to the tune of $100 million by the US, UK, Europe and other states.”]

Former Ohio Gov. Dennis Kucinich has loudly echoed the Assad government’s narrative of the conflict, as has former Sanders adviser Jeffrey Sachs, an economist at Columbia University. [Propaganda point: Kucinich and Sachs are not credible, just following what Assad has told them to believe.]

This year, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), a favorite of the Sanders movement, has both traveled to Damascus to meet with Assad and suggested that the dictator may be correct in saying he was not responsible for a chemical weapon attack in April that the international community has held him responsible for. [Propaganda points: 1. “Dictator”… wrong. Assad was elected by winning 88.7% of the popular vote (reference). 2. Gabbard also did not go to visit Assad, it just happened by chance (this Kp blog post). Also implied, since she went to Syria with Kucinich, she is also not credible.]

Assad is beloved by figures like white nationalist Richard Spencer and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. [Propaganda point: the only ones who Assad is associated with are “racist” and “bad” people.]

Watchers of the war say constant claims that the group’s members are regime-change agents rather than rescue workers only adds to Syrian suffering. [Propaganda point: therefore, any questioning of the MSM and US govt. narratives adds to the “Syrian suffering”.]