Five people in Egypt were arrested for doing the unthinkable: using children to stage fake photos of footage in Aleppo.
The people were allegedly making videos purporting to show wreckage from air strikes in Syria, the Egyptian Interior Minister said.
Photos and video taken at a demolition site show an 8-year-old girl with red stains on a white dress and bandages being interviewed about life in the besieged city, the Independent reported.
A police officer driving by the site noticed the girl’s paint-stained dress, the ministry said, which is why he stopped.
The videographer, his assistants and the parents of the two children featured in the footage were detained after Egyptian police were able to trail them to the site. The team admitted that they had planned to distribute the work on social media.
A camera and six cell phones were seized at the scene.
This is the conditions that the people of #Aleppo still waiting in besieged areas, 1- Snow on the grounds pic.twitter.com/KtoRdpkmCm
— Ahmad Alkhatib (@AhmadAlkhtiib) December 21, 2016
Syrian activists and White Helmets rescue workers have been largely lauded for their humanitarian work, but Assad and his allies have accused them of faking harrowing footage of the aftermath of bombings.
Images of children living in the war-torn city have been circulating through the media, alerting the globe to the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo.
Where one spoonful of rice is worth ten bags of Gold #Syria under Siege #Aleppo #AmanPalestin pic.twitter.com/0ObCLphmrn
— ذوالأبرار (@ZulAbrarHakim) December 21, 2016