“The Department of State’s Bureau of Middle East Affairs Aid Coordination is committed to promoting programmatic efforts to improve Syrians’ access to unbiased, accurate, and locally relevant information to empower Syrian citizens,” the document says.
The State Department project is aimed at combating disinformation, promoting human rights, expanding the broadcasting of "independent" media, and so on.
Washington plans to provide up to $15 million for its implementation.
Among the problems in the media sphere in the Arab Republic, the US State Department named a "disinformation campaign", which was allegedly launched by the Syrian authorities, Russia and Iran.
“The country’s information landscape is dominated by state-supported propaganda and disinformation campaigns by the Syrian regime, Russia, Iran and other malign actors,” the project description notes.
According to the department, the campaign is aimed at distorting the perception of the conflict in the SAR, undermining stabilization efforts and holding back progress towards a political resolution in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
The State Department is convinced that “spreaders of disinformation” allegedly form a distorted picture of events and present reality in a false light “often through the use of images and videos taken out of context.”
This activity can drown out "reliable" sources of information, officials of the US department say and declare the need to take action.
For example, the State Department expects program participants to come up with innovative solutions to educate and improve the competence of the Syrian “independent” media, as well as provide them with technical support in order to increase coverage and attract an audience in different parts of the country.
Earlier it became known about the plans of the United States to establish partnerships with Syrian civil society organizations and with their help "ensure stability" in areas not controlled by Damascus.
According to political analysts, the main goal pursued by Washington is to maintain a foothold in Syria.