How A Joke In Syria About Maher Al-Assad Returning To Take Back Power Led To Unbelievable Chaos
Halabi said he believed that misinformation spreads quickly in Syria because Syrians living under Assad's rule were isolated from the world.
This Syrian youtuber joked that Bashar al-Assad’s brother was returning to Syria to take back power and it led to unbelievable chaos.
It all started on Jan. 24 when a young Syrian YouTuber, Nour Halabi, wrote on his Telegram channel, saying that the new government security forces had withdrawn from the Latakia coast after Russia, Saudi Arabia and the transitional Syrian government reached an agreement to hand it over to Maher al-Assad, according to Verify- Sy.
Maher al-Assad is former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's younger brother and the leader of an army division of the Syrian Army and is responsible for numerous crimes and human rights abuses against Syrians since the Syrian revolution in 2011, according to Human Rights groups.
Three minutes after sending his message, Halabi sent another message saying he was joking.
Meanwhile, Syrian actor and director, Ghadhfan Ghanoum, who played Maher al-Assad in a drama series about the brutality of the Assad regime, had also returned back to Syria, which likely also fueled the rumors .
1- The story started with the return of the award-winning Syrian actor and director, Ghadhfan Ghanoum, to his homeland, Syria.
— Abd alhade alani (@abdalhadealani) January 25, 2025
Ghanoum played the role of Maher al-Assad in the drama series "Smile O General", which portrays the brutality of the Assad regime and the rampant… pic.twitter.com/3W621aaJH2
A former Assad government official then also shared the false news on his X account, which led more Assad regime supporters to believe it was true.
Assad Regime supporters started spreading the news quickly, with some even coming out of hiding and taking to the streets of Latakia with weapons to celebrate Maher al-Assad’s return.
However, the Syrian government was quick to respond after regime supporters attacked government sites, deploying reinforcement and arresting at least 3 of the vandalizers, according to local news.
After the government stabilized the situation, people knew it was fake news and shared theories saying that the current regime started this rumor to catch the remaining Assad’s supporters.
They also joked about how quickly Assad’s supporters were fooled and exposed.
POV: you’re about to convince loads of Assad cultists in Tartous that Maher Al Assad is returning to Syria, and in the process they will start firing weapons in the air and posting on social media to celebrate.. And all get arrested shortly afterwards.
— Karim (@Idlibie) January 25, 2025
Masterful gambit, sir. pic.twitter.com/MJ8mXa0tJY
7- What started as a joke quickly turned into the biggest uncovering of Assad regime sleeper cells.
— Abd alhade alani (@abdalhadealani) January 25, 2025
They began armed movements and openly fired shots in the streets in celebration, thinking the Assad regime had actually returned to power. pic.twitter.com/HjrP8p2WZU
This thread is pure comedy.
— Free Syrian Memes (@FreeSyrianMemes) January 25, 2025
Honestly, my memes barely scratch the surface of Assadists’ stupidity. 😂 https://t.co/qJq8h7n9wz pic.twitter.com/i4GUJBG7Lb
Halabi said he believed that misinformation spreads quickly in Syria because Syrians living under Assad's rule were isolated from the world.
so basically there was a rumour spreading about maher al assad returning
— justin (@justchiling0) January 25, 2025
well , let's just say it was kinda a stupid bait they made by themselves 😜
all the retard remnants of the assad came out from jablah supporting al assad family
guess what sect does jablah belong to 🤭🤭 pic.twitter.com/PJGBARZs7g
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