Old Image Of Bashar Al Assad With His Wife Going Viral As Their Recent Photo At Moscow

Recently Syrian President Bashar Al Assad had to flee the country after the rebels took over the capital Damascus. Against this backdrop, a photo of the ousted Syrian President with his wife is going viral on social media with the claim that this is their first photo in Moscow after the end of their reign. Sharing the photo on Facebook, a user wrote, “The first photo of Assad and his wife at Moscow airport has surfaced”

Facebook Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was false. The viral photo is an old one. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search and a relevant keyword search. This led us to a Facebook post on the Facebook page “Voice of America” on 11 February 2023. The caption of the post read, “Syrian President Bashar Assad made his first public appearance in the earthquake-devastated area of Aleppo on Friday and visited wounded patients at a local hospital, according to state media.

Four days after the 7.8 magnitude temblor, Assad and his wife, Asmaa, were seen at the Aleppo University Hospital consoling victims.

Assad said that a lot of “heroism” was on display following the quake aftermath, as he praised health workers for their roles while “working in the shadows.” (AP)”

Archived Link.

The first 3 seconds of the video were similar to the viral image.

Moving forward, we found a video report uploaded on the YouTube channel Sham TV on 10 February 2023 with an Arabic caption, “الرئيس الأسد مخاطباً الكوادر الطبية في مشفى حلب الجامعي”, translation of which reads, “President al-Assad addressing medical staff at Aleppo University Hospital”

The first few seconds of the video resemble the viral image. 

Another video report carrying the same footage can be seen here. 

A news report published on Reuters can be read here. 

It is worth mentioning that on 6 February 2023, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit Syria and Turkey, causing widespread damage.

This makes it clear that the viral image is old and not related to the current situation in Syria.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim made with the viral image is False. The image of the ousted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad with his wife is old when they went to visit the earthquake-hit Aleppo in 2023. This has no link to the current situation in Syria.