Vanessa Beeley

Vanessa Beeley is a British activist and blogger.[1] She is known for her pro-Bashar al-Assad advocacy, and for promoting conspiracy theories and falsehoods about the Syrian Civil War, in particular the White Helmets who she falsely claims are a terrorist organization.[2][3][4][5][6]

Career

Beeley is a former consultant to a waste management company in the Middle East.[7] She is an editor on the conspiracy website 21st Century Wire[8] and frequently appears on the Russian government-owned networks RT and Sputnik.[1][3][7] Beeley is a member of the "Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media", which supports claims from President Bashar al-Assad that the White Helmets have staged attacks.[9] The group also challenges claims that Assad has used chemical weapons.[10] Other members of the working group include Tim Hayward, Piers Robinson and David Miller.[10]

Beeley first visited Syria in July 2016.[11] That year, she met with Assad, describing it as her "proudest moment".[7][11] In private chats which were later leaked, she admitted that the Syrian government uses torture, but said in those chats that she would never publicly state so.[7] Beeley says Assad has not carried out chemical attacks,[12] and has said that George Soros paid the United Nations to conclude that Assad used chemical weapons.[8] In February 2018, Beeley encouraged her followers to report a list of news outlets and journalists critical of Assad for violating the U.K. Terrorism Act.[13]

Beeley has said White Helmets volunteer rescuers are a legitimate military target.[7][14] In 2017, Russia submitted a report to the United Nations Security Council that falsely linked the White Helmets to al-Qaeda; the report was based on a presentation given by Beeley earlier that year.[7] Beeley has also falsely claimed that the White Helmets engage in organ harvesting.[9]

Beeley has claimed al-Qaeda was not behind the September 11 attacks, the Charlie Hebdo shooting was staged, and "Zionists rule France."[3] Beeley also described murdered British MP Jo Cox as a "warmongering Blairite".[15] In August 2018, UK Labour Party MP Chris Williamson was criticised for tweeting that it was a "privilege" to have met Beeley.[15]

Australian journalist John Pilger, who has cited Beeley's writing, oversaw the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism for which Beeley was a runner-up.[7] According to Bellingcat, Beeley received the "Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism" from a pro-Assad lobby group due to her "regime-friendly commentary".[16]

Personal life

She is the daughter of former British diplomat Harold Beeley.[11][12][17]

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References
  1. Wilson, Tom; Starbird, Kate (2020-01-14). "Cross-platform disinformation campaigns: lessons learned and next steps". Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. 1 (1). doi:10.37016/mr-2020-002.
  2. "The online activists pushing Syria conspiracy theories". BBC News. 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  3. York, Chris (December 7, 2019). "'Conspiracy Theorist' Vanessa Beeley Faces Backlash As Universities Cancel Her 'Journalism' Talks". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  4. "Assad Supporters Plan to Put the 'Media on Trial' for Doing Journalism in Syria". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  5. "White Helmets 'staging fake attacks' in Syria? We sort fact from fiction". The France 24 Observers. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  6. "The 'crazy club': Inside the British propaganda trips that seek to legitimise Assad's barbarism". The National. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  7. Giovanni, Janine di (2018-10-16). "Why Assad and Russia Target the White Helmets". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  8. Berlatsky, Noah. "Dear Leftists: Going on Tucker Carlson Is Not Going to Stop Imperialism". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  9. "Mysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda". PBS NewsHour. 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  10. Kennedy, Dominic (April 11, 2020). "British academics sharing coronavirus conspiracy theories online" The Times.
  11. Solon, Olivia (2017-12-18). "How Syria's White Helmets became victims of an online propaganda machine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  12. Keate, Georgie; Blanchard, Sam (April 14, 2018). "‘To say Douma attack was staged is to enter an Orwellian world’" The Times.
  13. Mackey, Robert (February 21, 2020). "Homeland Security Algorithm Revokes U.S. Visa of War Crimes Investigator Eyal Weizman" The Intercept.
  14. Kennedy, Dominic (April 28, 2018). "Guests rebelled at Syria trip ‘lunacy’" The Times.
  15. "Labour MP Chris Williamson's 'democracy roadshow' criticised". BBC News. August 21, 2018.
  16. Davis, Charles (September 30, 2019). "Pro-Assad Lobby Group Rewards Bloggers On Both The Left And The Right". Bellingcat.
  17. Webster, Ben (April 16, 2018). "Academics accused of speaking for Assad condemn Syria raids" The Times.
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