Now that Syrians are no longer under the political persecution of the Ba’ath party of Bashar Assad, the domestic population is free to like, share, and follow any accounts they wish on social media. According to a survey conducted by Southern Illinois University in 2016, 96.1% of social media users from Syria reported they use Facebook daily. With over 23 million Syrians currently in the country, and millions more planning to return from the diaspora of nearly 13 million, a future population nearing 40 million would make Syria the 5th most populous Arab country with the potential of birthing a strong media marketplace if kept free and open.
Reporters Without Border ranking Syria among the top four media repressive regimes in the world, given its strong state control
Syria’s former governments led by the Assads had maintained an Orwellian control of media for over five decades, where journalists needed a license from the Ministry of Information and faced state repression under the state of emergency law from 1964 until the revolution began in 2011. Even after it was supposedly lifted, repression continued steadfastly, with Reporters Without Border ranking Syria among the top four media repressive regimes in the world, given its strong state control. Syria, without opening its marketplace to genuine media, flooded televisions and radio with state-sponsored propaganda and lies until December 8th, 2024, when Assad finally snuck out of the presidential palace with his family and fled the country. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Al-Masdar News, and Al-Watan were among the many agencies supported by the money of struggling Syrians even as they strove to gaslight the masses from breakfast to bed.
Syrians are now free to follow activists like Omar Alshogre, Rami Jarrah, and Nedal Al-Amari who have long provided Syria’s diaspora and allies with critical information on Syrian affairs
With the widespread growth of social media activity in Syria since the beginning of the revolution, even under harsh control and often dystopian regulation, Syrians are now free to follow activists like Omar Alshogre, Rami Jarrah, and Nedal Al-Amari who have long provided Syria’s diaspora and allies with critical information on Syrian affairs. Today, their audiences can repatriate themselves back into the domestic scene without fear of repercussion, successfully uniting Syrians worldwide without a filter.
Recently, Syrian civilians have had the chance to speak to the world from on the ground in their homeland in live broadcasts on CNN. This recent inclusion of international media brings credibility and competition to foreign narratives about Syria, which has been near to impossible for decades in the case of Western media given the Syrian government’s hostile stance towards free press. In the case of detained American freelance journalist Austin Tice, his parents spoke to media outlets recently. They expressed their belief that their son is still alive and hope for his imminent return which was renewed with the fall of the regime that kidnapped him in 2012.
Lebanon, being the most democratic and pluralistic society in the region neighboring Syria, has had many of its people and political factions standing with the Free Syrian people from the very beginning of the revolution. An opportunity to rebuild Syrian-Lebanese relations now presents itself, apart from the Hezbollah-Assad axis, a relationship that will be respectful of the internal affairs of Lebanese society, without Syrian occupation and interference such as assassinating opposition politicians as Hafez and Bashar had done for decades.
A critical component for Syria ‘normalizing’ its social, economic, and political relations with the world is media transparency which includes the reopening of previously closed media offices and the press industry to foreign media outlets.
For the benefit of all free Syrians, the borders must remain open for international journalists to support Syria’s democratic cause
For regional player Iran, the fall of Assad is a significant loss for its own regime’s interests. But in terms of authentic Iranian national interest, this could be a win for the Iranian people as 30 billion of their tax dollars are said to have been wasted on interfering in the affairs of another country rather than investing in their own. Given the existence of a strong international Iranian opposition, which is also present locally in the Arab world, the changing arena in Damascus could provide a journalistic opportunity for Iranian opposition media to continue their quest for freedom from the regime occupying Tehran. Iran International, Radio Farda, Voice of America Farsi, BBC, Kayhan London, and Manoto TV may all get the chance to set up in a free Syria, knowing that the tyrants of Tehran no longer have their strings attached to Syria’s media scene
Even as some communities fear the prolonging of sectarian strife and the possibility of more violence from regional actors attempting to capitalize on Syria’s instability, history has proven that a camera can be as powerful as a rifle when used to clear the fog and show the true reality. For the benefit of all free Syrians, the borders must remain open for international journalists to support Syria’s democratic cause. Perhaps the fastest opportunity for the political process in Syria to unfold will come by unleashing the political speech and coverage that was once manipulated and suppressed by the grip of one hand.
