Vanessa Beeley
Vanessa Beeley (born 17 June 1964) is a British activist and blogger known for her views about the Syrian civil war and about the Syrian volunteer organisation the White Helmets.
Quotes
[edit]- At the entrance to Shrehi, one of the villages attacked by ISIS in July, we stopped the car to visit the poster that had been erected with the names of the martyrs killed during the attack. Young men, women, children, murdered by a terrorist group with a history of collusion with the US Coalition against Syria and the Syrian Arab Army.
- SWEIDA: A Bloody Massacre Barely Registered by Western Media as ISIS Slaughter Innocent Civilians in their Sleep, by Vanessa Beeley, 21stCenturyWire (6 October 2018).
About Vanessa Beeley
[edit]- [Beeley] began attacking the White Helmets vehemently. In 2015, she had called for the first responders to be killed, even though "violence to life and person [against civilians and non-combatants], in particular murder of all kinds" is prohibited by the Geneva Convention. "White Helmets are not getting it," she tweeted. "We know they are terrorists. Makes them a legit target."
Beeley has admitted, in a private Facebook conversation with the blogger Scott Gaulke that was obtained by hackers and subsequently published, that even Assad does not deny torture. She wrote, "even Govt members dont [sic] deny it btw," adding that she would never admit this publicly.- Janine di Giovanni "Why Assad and Russia Target the White Helmets" The New York Review of Books (October 16, 2018).
- Beeley’s Twitter account is routinely referenced by Russian government social media accounts. She has a significant platform through Russian state media, her blogs have been cited in defence of Assad's atrocities by the Russian government, she has held meetings with the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakhorova, and has been endorsed by far-right agitators Katie Hopkins and Nick Griffin – as well as written up by Infowars.
- Oz Katerji "Labour can be Jo Cox's party or Chris Williamson's – it cannot be both" New Statesman (21 August 2018).
- Beeley has justified the use of incendiary weapons against civilians, recycled and championed debunked conspiracy theories, and described a meeting with Assad as her proudest moment. This is cheerleading, not reporting.
- Louisa Loveluck, Middle East correspondent of The Washington Post (tweet 20 August 2018), as cited in "Labour can be Jo Cox's party or Chris Williamson's – it cannot be both" New Statesman (21 August 2018).
- Assad’s very own Alex Jones.
- James O'Brien (tweet dated 19 August 2018), cited in "Labour can be Jo Cox's party or Chris Williamson's – it cannot be both" New Statesman (21 August 2018).
- For allegations against the rebels, Beeley’s threshhold of proof is so low that it’s almost non-existent. For allegations against the regime it’s so high that it may never be reached.
- Brian Whitaker, "Vanessa Beeley — the Syrian conflict’s goddess of propaganda" Medium (30 April 2018).
