Pages and accounts on social media circulated a report claiming that General Security arrested around 30 people in the city of Salamiyah in the Hama countryside, over a brawl that erupted because young men had harassed and filmed girls.
The fact-checking team contacted a source in the internal security command in Hama province, and it emerged that the incident resulted from a misunderstanding: the brawl broke out when one person was making a video call and was not filming any girls as had been circulated. The source confirmed that the number of people detained over the brawl was only 9, not 30 as the posts promoted.
Why is this claim misleading?
Inflating numbers and fabricating causes: The claim multiplied the number of detainees and fabricated a cause for the brawl by linking it to harassment and filming girls, aiming to inflame public opinion and distort the image of the security authorities.
