The information here, is a compilation of several contributions made to The Pen by concerned readers.

The White Helmets have been promoted as a group dedicated to rescuing victims of claimed Syrian government bombing of civilians.
There have been a few problems though. Mounting evidence of faked filming emerged. Thankful rescued victims began to be exposed as actors.

Members of the White Helmets turned out to be armed participants in the war. Further revelations exposed their connections with the al Qaeda aligned an Nusra and run by a former British soldier. The group has been used to build public support for intervention in Syria. But its fading reputation has posed considerable for it backers.

However, much of the English speaking media has largely blacked out this information and a false image of what is going on still manages to get through. Even so, the truth is starting to filter through. For instance, a lot of people have seen the picture of a Syrian boy, dirty and dejected looking, sitting on a big chair. The story is that the White Helmets pulled out of the rubble. He had also lost his family. It turns out that the same boy has been “rescued” more than once and that this particular scene,  had been shot outside Syria. Another is of a rescued girl who turned out to be a refuge in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon. These stories came from the White Helmets.

Independent journalists on the ground suggest that the White Helmets have little sympathy in Syria.

This is the context where a well-funded, pretend documentary materialised. It won an Academy Award this year. Critics have slammed this. It is not a genuine documentary, but a blatant propaganda exercise to paint the White Helmets as genuine and fearless rescuers. The footage is staged and scenes of events in Syria are fabrications, filmed outside the country.

Video from RT