Saturday, August 20, 2016

Brad Hoff — The man behind the viral ‘boy in the ambulance’ image has brutal skeletons in his own closet

The photojournalist behind the viral images of ‘the boy in the ambulance‘, which continue to make headlines around the world, has been identified by the Associated Press (AP) as Mahmoud Raslan (also spelled Rslan). His photo of a shell-shocked boy who barely survived an airstrike in Aleppo has captured the hearts and emotions of millions and conveyed a powerful momentary glimpse into the senseless and horrific devastation endured by Syria’s innocent children. But while some praise Raslan, he appears to have some horrific skeletons in his own closet.
Skeleton #1

Raslan’s social media history reveals a bizarre twist, which demonstrates the ironies and complexities of the Syrian conflict. The photographer has posted photos of himself posing with known child-killers from another recent viral moment: the infamous filmed beheading of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy captured in Aleppo by the ‘Zenki’ militant group.

Skeleton #2

Raslan, who identifies himself on Twitter as “a Syrian media activist” [translation], has also made multiple statements publicly praising suicide bombers.
"Our guy." I doubt anyone will see this is corporate media though.

The Canary
The man behind the viral ‘boy in the ambulance’ image has brutal skeletons in his own closet 
Brad Hoff
ht John Medaille/Kevin Fathi

3 comments:

Peter Pan said...

If he was an 'unaffiliated' photographer, he'd risk being killed. There are western journalists and photographers who are 'embedded' with US/allied forces. No skeletons there?

Tom Hickey said...

If he was an 'unaffiliated' photographer, he'd risk being killed. There are western journalists and photographers who are 'embedded' with US/allied forces. No skeletons there?

Who is responsible for killing more noncombatants, the mujahideen or the US/allied forces. Of course, that depends on selecting a time frame. But this is consistent behavior for the allies during and after WWII. That is largely ignored when the victor write history as propaganda.

Peter Pan said...

Trench warfare reduces the number of non-combatants. In modern warfare, the death toll will be roughly proportional to the amount of munitions expended over a fixed area. A siege is better for killing non-combatants. Atom bombs are the best.