Is it true that the photo shows a child from Syria sleeping between the graves of his parents?

For more than 10 years, a picture has been distributed on the network, which allegedly captures the Syrian boy, who fell asleep near the graves of his dead mothers and dads. We checked the authenticity of this photo.

In Runet, one of the earliest posts with this image appeared on January 17, 2014 on VKontakte in the community "The most useful public"(More than 1800 likes). “The girl is sleeping between the graves of her parents. Syria, ”says the signature in that record, although in most other publications it is stated that the photographer captured the Syrian boy. For example, in 2019 in a public Epoch. Such a post received almost 5,000 likes and more than 139,000 views. Similar publications were posted on VKontakte and on other platforms (Livejournal, Facebook*, Fotostrana.ru) in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 And 2020 years. According to OSINTS Tala HaginaRecently, Internet users have claimed that the photo has not been taken in Syria, but in gas. “Verified” also found publication For July 2024, where the nationality of the boy is not at all called.

In fact, a viral photo is not connected with Palestinian-Israeli conflictnor s civil war in Syria, which in January 2014 wrote media from different countries.

One of the first investigations on this subject in his blog released The Dutch journalist Harald Dornbos, who at that time was in southern Turkey near the border with Syria. He found out that the author of the distributed picture is a citizen of Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz al-Otabi, and, together with the translator, called him. “Listen, this is a complete lie that my photograph has anything to do with Syria,” the photographer said. “I am shocked by how people distorted my picture.” “I love taking pictures,” he continued. - Each artist has ideas in his head. Therefore, I had an idea to make a project in which I will show, through the photo, I will show how indispens the child’s love is for my parents. This love cannot be replaced by anything and anyone, even if the parents are dead. "

To translate the conceived art project, al-Othabi went to Yanba-City in his own car in his car in the west Saudi Arabia. Apparently, this happened at the end of 2013, because, according to him, the trip took place three weeks until January 17, 2014. Not far from Yangbu, the photographer built heaps of sand, similar to human graves, bombarded them with stones and asked his nephew to lie between them and cover himself with a blanket. “Of course, I would never put the child between two real graves,” he says. “I would be categorically against this.”

In early January 2014, Al-Otabibi posted in his social networks at first Black and white The version of the picture of its "sleeping" nephew. “He did not find at home among the living. He lived between his mother and father ... I hope you will like the idea. Everyone will understand and write about this photo in his own way. ” I read it signature. In the next post, already with color photography, It was said: “It may seem to some children that the bodies of their deceased parents are more tender than the bodies of the living, whose hearts are hardened.” He later posted several pictures on which the same child with a smile Positioning and on which You can seeThat there were more than two improvised graves. “I also published backstage. I just wanted to make sure that people would not make the wrong conclusions, ”the author explained.

However, on the network, the photo still began to spread with the wrong context. January 16, 2014 a war in Syria in its tweet With this picture, the user Twitter (now - X) with the userneum mentioned @AMERICANBADU - This is an Arab -speaking American Influenser, since 2012, living in Saudi Arabia. It is reported that at that time he had about 187,000 subscribers, so his post quickly hugged. At the same time, the Netherlands journalist notes, al-Otabi sent @americanbadu several messages in which he asked why the blogger took his photo and wrote about Syria, and also asked to correct the signature. Dornbos gave such an response to the influentor: “Why don't you just score, say that this is a photograph from Syria, and get a reward from God? You are exaggerating. " Nevertheless, soon the blogger deleted his tweet. “It’s just unfair - this is how to tear out one of my photos from the context and use it for your own propaganda,” the photographer complained. Already on January 18, 2014, in his post al-Otaibi thanked many media outlets that also contacted him and told About the present origin of his picture. BEIRUT.COM Publishing House declared: "This is absurd, how easy it is to manipulate people without turning to the source and facts."

Thus, a viral photograph was taken not in Syria or Gaza, but in Saudi Arabia. The picture shows not real graves, but piles of sand and stones imitating them. The allegedly sleeping child-the nephew of the author of this art project, who specifically posed on the camera.

*Russian authorities They think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns social networks Facebook and Instagram, an extremist organization, its activities in Russia are prohibited.

Photo on the cover: @azezphoto (Instagram)

Not true

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