Pages and accounts on social media circulated a document attributed to the Syrian Defense Ministry, claiming it issued a circular allowing the Iraqi air force to enter Syrian airspace and conduct military operations, in addition to allowing Iraqi ground forces to advance 30 kilometers inside Syrian borders.
The fact-checking team subjected the circulating document to a digital examination and found clear technical manipulation through image-editing software, evident in the significant variation in font sizes and quality, as well as the deletion of the decision's detailed date and the alteration of the year format. The search also led to the genuine document published on the official page of the Syrian Defense Ministry, bearing the same decision number 0002, which revealed that its original content relates to a different decision prohibiting the sale and transfer of military assets, with no connection to the circulating claim.
Why is this claim misleading?
Digital manipulation and document forgery: An official document issued by the Syrian Defense Ministry was manipulated using digital editing software to fabricate a military decision permitting foreign forces to enter Syrian territory.
