Chinese state TV claims Omran Daqneesh photo may be fake

Chinese state media on Tuesday claimed that the images of Syrian boy Omran Daqneesh, may have been doctored in order to use as part of a “propaganda war”.

State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) ran a report titled “Posed picture? Exaggeration? The video is suspected of being a fake,” during which a voiceover said that “critics have suggested that [the video] is part of a propaganda war, aimed at creating a humanitarian excuse for Western countries to become involved in Syria”.

“It may sound like a group organised by the Syrians, actually, it is led by an organisation called Crisis Rescue, whose founder and leading official is a UK military official,” the report said.

It added that it was deeply suspicious that instead of helping the 5-year-old who was photographed sitting dazed and bloodied in an Aleppo hospital, people chose to take photos.