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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: A photograph accompanying a social media post claimed to depict a Syrian prisoner who was freed after over 40 years in captivity.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a post on social media site, Bluesky, on December 8, 2024.
On the same day, dramatic news emerged from the Middle East that the decades-long reign of President Bashar al-Assad had effectively come to an end, after rebel groups occupied the capital city of Damascus with little resistance.
Among the updates on social media included posts that the rebels were taking control of prisons in Syria, including Saydnaya Prison, and freeing the detainees there.
Videos showed rebel fighters opening cell doors and telling the occupants to get out, including women and children.
Among the posts was one by user Amer Mater, who claimed: “Syria’s longest-serving detainee, ‘Ragheed Al-Tatri,’ has been released after 43 years of imprisonment.”
It was accompanied by a picture of the supposed Al-Tatri, looking aged.
However, no credible news outlets have confirmed that Al-Tatri has been freed, nor have they verified the legitimacy of the photo used.
You can see the post below:
The facts: According to an organization called the Association of Detainees and The Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), based in Turkiye, there is a documented prisoner by the name of Ragheed Ahmed Al-Tatari.
Al-Tatari was a Syrian Air Force officer who achieved the rank of First Lieutenant. He supposedly refused to execute air strikes on the town of Hama, which led to his arrest in 1981. Al-Tatari has been in captivity since then.
However, the picture accompanying the social media post has been digitally-manipulated.
Some users claimed the photo was AI-generated, while others said it was likely an existing photo run through an “ageing” filter.
A cursory glance at the photo’s “left ear,” which seems to extend from the top of the head to the chin, indicates that the photo is likely either fake or doctored. There is a picture of a younger Al-Tatari in ADMSP which could have been used as a base for the photo.
A Google Lens search of the image returns results of other social media posts repeating the claim, and a few online news sites reporting it at face value, but no confirmation of whether Al-Tatari was indeed freed, or if the photo is indeed of Al-Tatari.
A check on open-source website Sightengine indicates that the image is almost certainly manipulated, but not AI-generated. – Rappler.com
Sulaiman Daud is a 2024 #FactsMatter fellow of Rappler. He is a writer and editor at Mothership, Singapore’s youth-focused digital news platform.
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