DISINFO: OPCW says no chemical weapons were used in chemical attack happened in Douma
SUMMARY
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has explicitly confirmed only one fact in its recently published final report on the alleged use of poison gas in the Syrian Douma on 7 April 2018: that no chemical weapons were used there.
RESPONSE
The OPCW is very clear about the use of chemical substances and, in particular, chlorine in Douma, Syria. In its final report, the OPCW does not leave any doubts on the detection of chlorine on Douma: "based on the levels of chlorinated organic derivatives, detected in several environmental samples gathered at the sites of alleged use of toxic chemicals, which are not naturally present in the environment, the FFM concludes that the objects from which the samples were taken at both locations had been in contact with one or more substances containing reactive chlorine" (page 3 of the report). Background: The claims that videos taken in a Douma hospital after the chemical attack were staged are a recurring narrative of pro-Kremlin outlets. See our reporting and Bellingcat coverage how Russian and Syrian state media has used fiction movies to "prove" the Douma attacks were staged. See more disinformation cases on chemical attack in Douma.