After the Syrian presidency announced weeks ago that Asma al-Assad, the wife of President Bashar al-Assad, was diagnosed with acute leukemia, speculations didn’t quiet down. Last week, she personally reassured her audience, referring to her as the "martyr of the nation." However, she returned to the spotlight today after the media office of the Damascus countryside governorate posted on Facebook, announcing her death. The post, which claimed to convey a statement from the presidency, stated that the president's wife had died due to complications from the disease and that she had become a "martyr of the nation."
Minutes later, the announcement spread rapidly, sparking responses from official voices to clarify the situation. The official page of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party - Regional Leadership posted a clarification on Facebook, confirming that all the circulated news was unfounded. In their correction post, they stated: "Important clarification... Recently, several pages appeared on Facebook under the name 'Arab Socialist Ba'th Party – Regional Leadership' and began to spread false news and baseless rumors. We affirm to our followers, audience, and Ba'th comrades that there are no other accounts for the central leadership of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party aside from this platform, and any other platform is not genuine. We also urge our comrades and audience to be precise in receiving news only from its trusted sources and not to circulate posts spread through fake pages."
Following this clarification, critical comments flooded in about the official pages that had shared the news. One user wrote, "Copy-pasting and the speed of publication by some comrades and some media offices are far more important than professionalism, thoroughness, and verifying any news." Another added, "#It_looks_like_a_new_campaign_of_exemptions_is_necessary."
