DISINFO: Leaked OPCW report proves Douma chemical attack was staged
SUMMARY
A leaked, never-before-seen report by the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) proves that the April 2018 chemical attack in Douma, Syria was staged. The leaked document, prepared by an FFM engineer, finds that the two cylinders allegedly containing chlorine and found on a Douma rooftop could not have been dropped from a helicopter. This fact precludes the involvement of Syrian government forces in the attack. The organization which first obtained the unreleased report — the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media — concludes that the two chlorine cylinders were instead placed on said rooftop. This means that the attack was indeed staged, possibly by the White Helmets who have been repeatedly busted faking videos of their rescue operations.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narratives deflecting blame for chemical attacks from the Assad regime; painting the White Helmets as terrorists; and aiming to discredit the OPCW. The "never-before-seen-report" appears to be an engineering assessment carried out by one individual who, contrary to Sputnik's false claim, was never a member of the Fact-Finding Mission and is not currently employed by the organization. The individual, however, was affiliated with the OPCW as an engineer and apparently have access to materials gathered in the course of the Douma FFM, and based his/her conclusions on the same evidence pool. An OPCW press statement confirms that "all information was taken into account, deliberated, and weighed when formulating the final report regarding the incident in Douma." The OPCW Technical Secretariat is conducting an internal investigation about the unauthorised release of the document in question. Regardless of the leaked document's authenticity, its conclusion that the cylinders could not have been dropped from helicopters: a) has been addressed in the actual OPCW report on Douma (Annex 6, pp. 55-56); b) does not support the outlandish claim that the incident was staged "and designed to frame the Syrian government." The White Helmets have not once been "busted" staging anything, see our debunking on the subject for more details.