Emerging story

Amid the ongoing unrest in Syria, social media users widely claimed that Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) executed Youhanna Youssef Boutros, the revered spiritual leader of Mar Elias Church in Tartous.

An X user shared the alleged photo of the Christian leader, writing, “Circulating news: Al-Julani’s gang executed Youhanna Youssef Boutros, the spiritual father of Mar Elias Church in Tartous.”

Fake

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Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be fake.

Greek Orthodox Akkar Archdiocese Refuted the Claim

Misbar’s investigative team searched online for the viral claim and found it to be baseless.

The Greek Orthodox Akkar Archdiocese dismissed the claim in an official statement on Facebook, clarifying that the Archdiocese of Tartous has no priest by that name.

The translated statement reads: “News is being shared on social media that Father Youhanna Boutros, the priest of Mar Elias Church in Tartous, has been killed. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Tartous confirms that it does not have any priest with this name and that the news is false.”

Misbar’s team conducted a further investigation into the photo circulating with the false claim and found that it was taken from a video released on Instagram on February 25.

The video captures a speech delivered by participants at the Syrian National Dialogue Conference at the time.

The conference took place on...

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