It is an achingly familiar scene. An injured man lies prostrate in the rubble as two members of the Syria Civil Defence group -- known as the White Helmets -- come to his aid, another apparent victim of Syria’s bloody civil war.
But all is not as it seems.
The man and the White Helmets appear frozen. The whole scene is in fact posed.
The men are performing their version of the Mannequin Challenge in a video released by activists from the Revolutionary Forces of Syria “to raise awareness of the suffering of the Syrian people”.
The nearly one-minute long video has been the subject of criticism on social media. The Syrian Civil Defense released a statement calling it an “error of judgement”.
“This video and the related posts were recorded by RFS media with Syria Civil Defense volunteers, who hoped to create a connection between the horror of Syria and the outside world using the viral ‘Mannequin challenge.’ This was an error of judgement, and we apologise on behalf of the volunteers involved,” the statement read.
The Syrian Civil Defense was recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its work rescuing thousands of people since the Syrian conflict began over five years ago.
Meanwhile, Russian media, such as RT, said the footage raised doubts about the White Helmets’ other rescue videos.
It is not the first time that activists in Syria have used a viral sensation to elevate their message. During the summer, RFS released a series of images showing Syrian children holding pictures of Pokemon characters with the words: "Save me, I am in Syria."
Image: The White Helmets were earlier this year nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Photograph: Ammar Abdullah/Reuters
