Talk:Bashar al-Assad

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Sina Zekavat (11 September 2019). "Persian Wikipedia: an independent source or a tool of the Iranian state?". openDemocracy. Retrieved 12 September 2019. Next, I decided to check the Wikipedia page of Bashar al-Assad. The English version comprehensively outlines the economic and social policies of the Assad dynasty which eventually led to the 2011 revolution.

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The Giraffe Name

Syrian people used to call him "Giraffe" in reference to his long nick. This name is widely known and used.

reference https://www.irishtimes.com/podcasts/in-the-news/lara-marlowe-on-meeting-bashar-al-assad-he-was-comical-looking-they-called-him-the-giraffe/ Niafandi (talk) 04:14, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Supposed poisoning attempt

I reverted this weakly sourced claim of Assad being poisoned. Newsweek as a source has problems, but for the purposes of this talk page, its analysis that the General SVR Telegram channel run by former and current members of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service has earlier published strong claims that failed to be confirmed does look credible, i.e. there's little reason to take the poisoning claim seriously. The only possibly newsworthy part of this so far is that a lot of newspapers have broadcast the meme further, including British tabloids; this might be interesting for the topics of misinformation or disinformation, if a WP:RS considered it significant enough as mis/disinformation. As a WP:BLP, stronger sources are needed before publishing a claim like this.

Since I've done my 1RR on this, others will have to do other reverts if the poisoning claim is added again prior to consensus. Boud (talk) 02:24, 3 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

TODO: There's still As of January 2, 2025, Assad may have been poisoned while in Russia. [15] in the lead in in the version 04:33, 3 January 2025 with the WP:NEWSWEEK generally unreliable source as bare URL and non-dmy date. Boud (talk) 06:09, 3 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

And it's in the section Assassination attempts: In 2025, it was reported that Assad was poisoned in Moscow, Russia.[445] also in in the version 04:33, 3 January 2025 per The Economic Times per the General SVR Telegram Russian spies/ex-spies. Boud (talk) 06:20, 3 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No arguments in favour of reporting the rumour in Wikipedia were presented, so I removed the two sentences propagating the rumour. Boud (talk) 17:10, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@BasselHarfouch, Bri, Richie1509, Geraldshields11, and Nikkimaria: Per WP:SNOPES, Snopes is certified by the International Fact-Checking Network, and is considered generally reliable, and Alex Kasprak says on Snopes: Claims originating from General SVR have been credulously promoted by The Sun and other tabloids numerous times since 2022, despite the account's self-evidently dubious track record. ... The only "evidence" for any of these claims — then and now — was General SVR. ... Jade McGlynn, a researcher on Russian propaganda and media, told Business Insider in January 2023 that the account's propaganda successfully infiltrates Western media because of its outlandish or oversimplified claims. Aric Toler, an open-source investigator who reports on Russian disinformation, has told his followers to discard anything the account claims. The rumour itself is not WP:NOTABLE, because it's from a source with a reputation for disinformation.

After all, Vladimir Putin's death on 26 October 2023 per the same source was somewhat exaggerated, even though he "may have died" on 26 Oct 2023 and "it was reported that he allegedly died" on 26 Oct 2023. Boud (talk) 17:30, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Torturer category

Would the torturer category be appropriate here? 2600:100C:A21D:971A:3DFA:A9B2:FCD8:A60 (talk) 06:01, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Portrait?

What happened to the previous infobox portrait? Based on wiki guidelines, I thought it was good but it was changed. In my opinion, the previous portrait should be kept as it was higher resolution and more recent. AsaQuathern (talk) 17:37, 31 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I was literally about to ask the same thing. That portrait was from more than 20 years ago and it’s of poor quality. Instead of using the “official” portrait from 2004, why not use the 2024 picture we had been using? I’m going to ping @Goofywikiman over here since he’s the one who changed the portrait (without leaving an edit summary). Maybe he can explain why the portrait was changed. Hurricane Clyde 🌀^{my talk page!} 17:56, 31 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If they don't respond, I say we should undo it AsaQuathern (talk) 18:25, 31 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgement, and I don’t expect to be forgiven. I’m simply here to apologize. I want to apologize to the internet. Like I said I made a huge mistake. I don’t expect to be forgiven, I’m just here to apologize. I'm ashamed of myself. I’m disappointed in myself. And I promise to be better. I will be better. Also I feel like he's more recognizable with the mustache Goofywikiman (talk) 18:37, 31 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Goofywikiman, we actually have a policy called ”assume good faith”, and I do believe that it was an honest mistake that you made in good faith, you thought your image was better. It happens. I used to make those kinds of mistakes too, and sometimes I still make those mistakes and I’ve been editing for over a year (part of the time as an IP). Hurricane Clyde 🌀^{my talk page!} 22:02, 31 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Don't be too hard on yourself! After all, Wikipedia also has a policy to be bold (Wikipedia:Be bold) that's what makes it constantly improve! Next time, when you are being bold, all you have to do is add what you changed to the edit summary and all will be well. Have a fun time editing! AsaQuathern (talk) 01:38, 1 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Torturer category

Would the torturer category be appropriate here? 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:6901:955F:BCDB:BD3A (talk) 02:48, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, if reliable sources describe him as such and this is included in the article body, per WP:CATV. Yue💌 06:28, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Here’s several sources that describe torture under his regime.

https://apnews.com/article/syria-prisons-torture-assad-missing-ad4c676858c8016ea5fd4f7a4946353e

https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1159466

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4784vn4jdo.amp

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/16/syria-stories-behind-photos-killed-detainees 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:991A:25A6:E31F:60D3 (talk) 23:53, 24 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Tulsi in "Right-Wing" International Support

At the time that Tulsi Gabbard visited Syria, she was considered to be on the progressive end of the Democratic Party. Her base of support in her later presidential campaign was mostly derived from left-wing anti-imperialist activism. It seems more sensible to categorize her under Left-Wing international support than Right-Wing. Catjerine (talk) 18:08, 24 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request

This edit request to Bashar Al Assad has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Please add the category Torturers here as his regime was proven to torture. 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:991A:25A6:E31F:60D3 (talk) 23:55, 24 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: According to the page's protection level you should be able to edit the page yourself. If you seem to be unable to, please reopen the request with further details. But also, this is a potentially controversial addition and should likely be discussed here first. PianoDan (talk) 00:17, 25 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@PianoDan. The page is under the sliverlock. IP users cannot edit the page. However, this is a controversial addition. Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 00:25, 25 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That's weird - it was showing up as red on the "Edit Requests" list, and there's no protection template on this page. PianoDan (talk) 15:33, 25 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There’s discussions here about it please reply to them. 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:580C:D6BF:623D:21B0 (talk) 01:59, 26 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Is this article neutral?

The article seems to be focused on a more anti-Bashir view. While yes, Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, and should therefore provide information on the topic - in this case al-Assad. I notice that this article seems to be heavily dominated by an anti-Assad view.

I just think that the article may be able to be written a bit more neutral. That's all... 2A00:23C6:9618:DF01:8CD0:D01D:4FC3:8B8B (talk) 21:36, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I understand your point, but how would you propose this article be written more neutrally? KeysofDreams (talk) 02:54, 11 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]