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Anonymous documents reveal a joint campaign dating back to 2014, led by the British Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense and International Development, in an effort to support “strategic communications, research, monitoring, evaluation and operational support for Syrian opposition entities” . A campaign that included, according to the Ministry of Foreign Relations, “establishing network links between political movements and the media”, through the “development of independent local media platforms”, with the aim of “providing trainers in public relations and deal with the media ”. Another document (2017) shows how London has financed “the selection, training, support and direction of communications for Syrian activists who share with the United Kingdom their vision of the future of Syria and who will adhere to the set of values that are compatible with their policies. ”. This “initiative” provided government funds to support Syrian “popular media activity” in civilian and armed opposition circles. In this regard, the British Foreign Office has drawn up plans to wage an all-out media war against Syria. To create an infrastructure capable of managing the advertising campaign, a group of government contractors was promoted, including the companies “Analysis Research Knowledge”, short for ARK, the “Global Strategic Network” TGSN, “Innovative Communications and Strategies” (InCoStrat ), and “Albany”. Albany.
ARK, based in Dubai, defines itself as a “non-governmental humanitarian organization” and as “created to help the most vulnerable”, in cooperation with the governments of the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands, as well as the United Nations. As one of the main contractors of the British government, this company was entrusted with the Heart of Order plan in Syria. There, he cooperated with TGSN, led by Richard Barrett, former director of global counterterrorism at the British intelligence service MI6, and played an unequivocal role in developing the foundations of the Syrian opposition narrative, empowering all levels of communication. : from “workshops He worked in citizen journalism, to his work with the” Syrian National Opposition Coalition “, and even supervised the public relations strategy of the” Supreme Military Council “in the” Free Syrian Army “.
ARK took the initiative to develop a huge network of opposition media activists in Syria; “More than 150 activists were trained in the basics of handling the camera, lighting and sound, as well as in the production of reports and the safety of journalists.” In six months, the company flooded Syria with opposition propaganda, after distributing 668,600 of its printed products within this country (posters, flyers, brochures and other materials related to the campaign). In one document, ARK and TGSN boast of supervising: 97 videographers, 23 writers, 49 distributors, 23 photographers, 19 local trainers, 8 training centers, 3 media offices, and 32 investigative officers. In addition, ARK confirms that it has “well-established contacts” with some of the world’s best media outlets such as “Reuters”, “The New York Times”, “CNN”, “BBC”, “The Guardian” and “Financial”. The Times, The Times, Al Jazeera, Sky News Arabia, Orient and Al Arabiya, for providing “regular content (promoting Her Majesty’s priorities).”
The British Foreign Office has drawn up plans to wage an all-out media war against Syria.
The media war was organized as part of an initiative called Basma, funded by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom. Three years after starting its work, ARK stated that it “trained more than 1,400 beneficiaries, representing more than 210 beneficiary organizations, in more than 130 workshops …”, in a wide network that reached the 14 governorates of Syria , and included areas controlled by the opposition and by the government. Their courses included training opposition spokespersons, teaching them to speak to the press, before launching them on the air. To work with the international press and nurture opposition leaders, ARK helped develop a mass opposition media structure, as “the primary means of communication for multi-donor efforts to develop a network of radio stations and magazines. inside Syria since 2012 “.
The white helmets
ARK is a central force in the launch of the “White Helmets”. The documents show that the company managed the social media accounts of this organization and is credited with developing a “communications campaign with an international focus designed to increase global awareness of the (White Helmets) and their work.” He also facilitated contacts between the “White Helmets” and the “Syrian Campaign” (TSC) (a public relations firm run in London and New York that helped promote the organization in the United States). In its report to the State Department, the company wrote that “the Syrian campaign chose the White Helmets to be at the forefront of their campaign to keep Syria in the news.”
Another document shows that in 2011 ARK worked with another government collaborator, Tsamota, to help develop the Syrian Commission for Justice and Accountability (SCJA). In 2014, the latter changed its name to the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), an organization funded by Western governments and concerned about regime change. The project initially ran “with UK funding to support training in criminal investigation of Syrian war crimes”, and has since “grown to become an important component of the transitional justice architecture in Syria.”
In the leaked documents, another British government contractor, InCoStrat, boasted of having created “a huge network of more than 1,600 journalists and influencers in Syria.” The company emphasized that it was “managing and delivering a multi-donor project to support UK foreign policy goals” in Syria (between financiers, the US, UAE and Syrian businessmen). Like ARK, InCoStrat has worked closely with the press, having “extensive experience in dealing with Arab and international media.” In its media war, InCoStrat pursued a two-pronged campaign: guerrilla warfare (using the media to create an event) and guerrilla tactics (launching an event to create media impact). The company says it helped train civil society organizations in marketing, media and communications in Afghanistan, Honduras, Iraq, Syria and Libya, and even trained a team of anti-Saddam Hussein journalists inside Basra, following the US invasion. .
The leaked documents highlight a British government contractor named “Albany.” This company has secured “the participation of an extensive local network of more than 55 reporters and photographers to influence the narratives of the media and promote the interests of the foreign policy of the United Kingdom”. He also helped establish an influential Syrian opposition media group called “Enab Baladi”, which was established in Daraya in 2011 and has been marketed as a “popular Syrian media platform.” Albani also coordinated communications between opposition media and extremist opposition groups by appointing a “leader (who has) deep credibility with the main groups: Faylaq al-Sham, the Levant Front, the Free Idlib Army, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam, Faylaq al-Rahman and the Liberation Army. “
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