Egyptian TV presenter mocks bombing of Aleppo, suggests reports made up
A popular Egyptian TV presenter and actor has mocked recent coverage of Syrian government air strikes on Aleppo, suggesting that the media is fabricating stories about the bombardment.
More than 300 civilians were killed in the past two weeks of fighting in the divided city with government air strikes on the opposition-held east and rebel shelling on the government-controlled west. A truce to stop the fighting took hold last Thursday and was extended on Sunday for another 72 hours.
Last week, however, Ahmed Adam, the host of the comedy show Son of Adam and the star of many popular Egyptian films, said that major news organisations have been lying about what is happening on the ground in Syria's largest city.
“If you want to know what is happening in Syria.. switch on channel Al Jazeera or BBC or any of ‘their’ channels.. and know that the complete opposite is happening," Adam said.When the two channels and US news organisations call for people to “save the children of Syria, save the people dying in Syria, save the hospitals, Aleppo is being bombed, know that the Americans, the Turks and the Zionists are in trouble," he quipped.
“I swear if you follow the planning of the BBC, Al Jazeera and the Muslim Brotherhood channels regarding Syria, you’ll laugh yourself to death or laugh your head off.”
Adam then pretends to be a Syrian woman, calling into Al Jazeera and Muslim Brotherhood channels to say that Aleppo is being bombed and questions how she would be able to call when electricity, water and phone lines have been cut.
"Hello, I'm calling from Aleppo. Ouch," he said, pretending to that the woman has been hurt by a bomb.
“Then she sees the biggest surprise, which is that the missiles are ‘made in Egypt’," Adam said. "How did she read all that while the missile is flying by? Or maybe when it fell and blew up, she gathered all the pieces of the missile and read it."
He then mocked a photo of a man covered in ash after a recent air strike, saying that, in fact, he was covered in powder from a barber shop.
“I saw one guy. They put powder in his hair and his face, but his neck is very clean, and they are trying to say he just came out of the rubble, and he’s bleeding, but he is not hurt and his face is full of powder. I thought a barber hit him with a rocket of powder," Adam joked.
Middle East Eye propose une couverture et une analyse indépendantes et incomparables du Moyen-Orient, de l’Afrique du Nord et d’autres régions du monde. Pour en savoir plus sur la reprise de ce contenu et les frais qui s’appliquent, veuillez remplir ce formulaire [en anglais]. Pour en savoir plus sur MEE, cliquez ici [en anglais].
