Vanessa Beeley

{{Short description|Blogger, writer and photographer}}{{Infobox person

| birth_date = 1963/1964

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Blogger
Activist

}}

| known_for = Sharing conspiracy theories and disinformation related to the Syrian Civil War

}}

{{EngvarB|date=August 2020}}Vanessa Beeley (born 1963/1964{{Cite web |last=Bachner |first=Michael |title=UK Labour MP slammed for praising anti-Semitic pro-Assad conspiracist |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-labour-mp-slammed-for-praising-anti-semitic-pro-assad-conspiracist/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}) is a British activist and blogger{{Cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=Tom|last2=Starbird|first2=Kate|date=14 January 2020|title=Cross-platform disinformation campaigns: lessons learned and next steps|journal=Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review|language=en-US|volume=1|issue=1|doi=10.37016/mr-2020-002|doi-access=free}} known for sharing conspiracy theories and disinformation about the Syrian civil war and about the Syrian volunteer organisation the White Helmets.{{Cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/05/02/assad-supporters-plan-put-media-trial-journalism-syria/|title=Assad Supporters Plan to Put the 'Media on Trial' for Doing Journalism in Syria|website=Snopes.com|date=May 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=15 March 2020|archive-date=21 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521080353/https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/05/01/assad-supporters-plan-put-media-trial-journalism-syria/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://observers.france24.com/en/20180514-white-helmets-allegations-fact-fiction|title=White Helmets 'staging fake attacks' in Syria? We sort fact from fiction|website=The France 24 Observers|date=14 May 2018|language=en|access-date=17 March 2020|archive-date=10 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410033936/https://observers.france24.com/en/20180514-white-helmets-allegations-fact-fiction|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-43745629|title=The online activists pushing Syria conspiracy theories|date=19 April 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=15 March 2020|language=en-GB|archive-date=19 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319063236/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-43745629|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/vanessa-beeley-canada-tour-144425668.html|title='Conspiracy Theorist' Vanessa Beeley Faces Backlash As Universities Cancel Her 'Journalism' Talks|last=York|first=Chris|date=7 December 2019|website=uk.news.yahoo.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207073659/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/vanessa-beeley-canada-tour-144425668.html|archive-date=7 December 2019|access-date=8 August 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/the-crazy-club-inside-the-british-propaganda-trips-that-seek-to-legitimise-assad-s-barbarism-1.724176|title=The 'crazy club': Inside the British propaganda trips that seek to legitimise Assad's barbarism|website=The National|date=24 April 2018 |language=en|access-date=17 March 2020|archive-date=12 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612062737/https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/the-crazy-club-inside-the-british-propaganda-trips-that-seek-to-legitimise-assad-s-barbarism-1.724176|url-status=live}}

Early life and career

Beeley is the daughter of former British diplomat Harold Beeley.{{Cite news|last=Solon|first=Olivia|date=18 December 2017|title=How Syria's White Helmets became victims of an online propaganda machine|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/syria-white-helmets-conspiracy-theories|access-date=15 March 2020|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=1 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101235803/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/syria-white-helmets-conspiracy-theories|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Webster |first=Ben |date=2018-04-15 |title=Academics accused of speaking for Assad condemn Syria raids |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/academics-speaking-for-assad-question-justification-for-raids-sm6qthxkx |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}} Initially, she worked as a consultant to a waste management company in the Middle East.{{Cite web|last=Giovanni|first=Janine di|author-link=Janine di Giovanni|date=16 October 2018|title=Why Assad and Russia Target the White Helmets|url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/10/16/why-assad-and-russia-target-the-white-helmets/|access-date=17 March 2020|website=The New York Review of Books|language=en|archive-date=12 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112051700/https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/10/16/why-assad-and-russia-target-the-white-helmets/|url-status=live}}{{cite news | last=Weiss | first=Michael | title=Syria Chemical-Attack Deniers Admit Links to WikiLeaks and Russia | website=The Daily Beast | date=2021-04-20 | url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/syria-chemical-attack-deniers-admit-links-to-wikileaks-and-russia | access-date=2021-07-19 | archive-date=19 July 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719142655/https://www.thedailybeast.com/syria-chemical-attack-deniers-admit-links-to-wikileaks-and-russia | url-status=live }}

= Activism =

Beeley has travelled to Palestine where she lived through Israeli bombardments.{{Cite web|date=2017-01-02|title=Britisk journalist svarer Khader igen: "Jeg er hverken støttet af Assad eller Putin"|url=https://jyllands-posten.dk/international/mideast/ECE9263418/britisk-journalist-svarer-khader-igen-jeg-er-hverken-stoettet-af-assad-eller-putin/|access-date=2020-11-22|website=jyllands-posten.dk|language=da|archive-date=25 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725155618/https://jyllands-posten.dk/international/mideast/ECE9263418/britisk-journalist-svarer-khader-igen-jeg-er-hverken-stoettet-af-assad-eller-putin/|url-status=live}} In 2014, she started her blog titled The Wall Will Fall in which she supported the Palestinian cause.{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://thewallwillfall.org/about/|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Wall Will Fall|date=12 September 2014|language=en|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124231611/https://thewallwillfall.org/about/|url-status=live}}

Since 2015, Beeley has focused her activism on the Syrian civil war. She first visited Syria in July 2016. That year, she met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus as part of a US Peace Council delegation, describing it as her "proudest moment". According to Bellingcat, Beeley was on the steering committee for the Syria Solidarity Movement.Davis, Charles (30 September 2019). [https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2019/09/30/pro-assad-lobby-group-rewards-bloggers-on-both-the-left-and-the-right/ "Pro-Assad Lobby Group Rewards Bloggers On Both The Left And The Right"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930183413/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2019/09/30/pro-assad-lobby-group-rewards-bloggers-on-both-the-left-and-the-right/ |date=30 September 2019 }}. Bellingcat. After visiting Syria, Beeley went to Moscow to meet Russia's deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov and director of information and press Maria Zakharova. An article by Janine di Giovanni in The New York Review of Books described Bogdanov as "Putin's point man on Syria".

Beeley has frequently appeared on the Russian government-owned networks RT and Sputnik commenting on the Syrian war.

In 2019, two of Beeley's planned talks at universities in Canada, organised by the Hamilton, Ontario chapter of the Stop the War Coalition, were cancelled after a backlash. The Université de Montréal said the room booked for the event was too small and it was concerned that the "event would not go off peacefully".

= Journalism =

Beeley has been an associate editor of the conspiracy website 21st Century Wire.{{Cite news|last=Berlatsky|first=Noah|title=Dear Leftists: Going on Tucker Carlson Is Not Going to Stop Imperialism|url=https://psmag.com/news/lol-stop-going-on-tucker-carlson|access-date=15 March 2020|website=Pacific Standard|language=en|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611215659/https://psmag.com/news/lol-stop-going-on-tucker-carlson|url-status=live}} She has also written articles for MintPress News.https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PDFappendix_starbird_jan3.pdf

In 2019, she received the "Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism" from the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees, which Bellingcat describes as a "pro-Assad lobby group".

Beeley has claimed to have been a finalist for the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, however, according to James Fox, a member of the prize committee, there are no finalists for the Gellhorn Prize, and only winners or special commendations are published.Hadjimatheou, Chloe (27 February 2021). [https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56126016 "Mayday: How the White Helmets and James Le Mesurier got pulled into a deadly battle for truth"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301001518/https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56126016 |date=1 March 2021 }}. BBC News.

Views

Some of Beeley's controversial views include a belief that the human rights NGO Human Rights Watch is a "fake" group, that the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris was a false flag operation, and that al-Qaeda was not responsible for the September 11 attacks.

=Syria=

Beeley is a member of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media which has attracted criticism for disputing the veracity of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War.{{cite web|date=24 December 2019|title=Mysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mysterious-death-of-white-helmets-co-founder-spotlights-toxic-propaganda|access-date=22 February 2021|website=PBS NewsHour|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227194632/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mysterious-death-of-white-helmets-co-founder-spotlights-toxic-propaganda|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Syria: on academic freedom and responsibility|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/syria-on-academic-freedom-and-responsibility/|access-date=22 February 2021|website=openDemocracy|archive-date=30 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130232608/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/syria-on-academic-freedom-and-responsibility/|url-status=live}}

In February 2018, Beeley encouraged her readers to report a list of news outlets and journalists – including the BBC, Channel 4 News and The Guardian – for allegedly violating the UK Terrorism Act.Mackey, Robert (21 February 2020). [https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/homeland-security-algorithm-revokes-u-s-visa-war-crimes-investigator-eyal-weizman/ "Homeland Security Algorithm Revokes U.S. Visa of War Crimes Investigator Eyal Weizman"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201115436/https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/homeland-security-algorithm-revokes-u-s-visa-war-crimes-investigator-eyal-weizman/ |date=1 December 2020 }} The Intercept. The journalists and media outlets listed by Beeley had all been critical of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

In leaked private chats, Beeley admitted knowing that the Syrian government engages in torture, but said that she would never publicly state so.

== White Helmets ==

Beeley has accused the White Helmets, a Syrian humanitarian organisation that operated in parts of opposition-controlled Syria and in Turkey, of being a fraudulent terrorist organisation that engages in organ harvesting, and that its volunteers are a legitimate military target.{{Cite web|date=24 December 2019|title=Mysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mysterious-death-of-white-helmets-co-founder-spotlights-toxic-propaganda|access-date=17 March 2020|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us|archive-date=13 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313074658/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mysterious-death-of-white-helmets-co-founder-spotlights-toxic-propaganda|url-status=live}}Kennedy, Dominic (28 April 2018). [https://www.thetimes.com/uk/media/article/guests-rebelled-at-syria-trip-lunacy-6hcpgmkdg "Guests rebelled at Syria trip 'lunacy'"] The Times. In 2017, referencing Beeley's false claims, the Russian government submitted a report to the United Nations Security Council that linked the White Helmets to al-Qaeda. Eight countries on the Security Council rejected Russia's submission, saying that the White Helmets are an "impartial, neutral group".

Middle East experts have dismissed Beeley's allegations that the White Helmets are linked to al-Qaeda and that the group engages in organ harvesting.{{cite web | last=Hadjimatheou | first=Chloe | title=Mayday: How the White Helmets and James Le Mesurier got pulled into a deadly battle for truth | website=BBC News | date=2021-02-27 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56126016 | access-date=2021-07-19 | archive-date=1 March 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301001518/https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56126016 | url-status=live }} Fact-checking website Snopes gave a rating of "false" for Beeley's claim that the White Helmets were linked to terrorists.Palma, Bethania (15 December 2016). [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/syrian-rescue-organization-the-white-helmets-are-terrorists/ "Are the Syrian 'White Helmets' Rescue Organization Terrorists?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115023714/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/syrian-rescue-organization-the-white-helmets-are-terrorists/ |date=15 January 2022 }} Snopes.

According to data analyst organisations Graphika and Hoaxy, in 2018 Beeley was among the most influential figures in spreading content online about the White Helmets.

== Syrian chemical weapons ==

Beeley is a member of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media which alleges that the 2018 Douma chemical attack was staged by the White Helmets.{{cite web | last=Hadjimatheou | first=Chloe | title=The UK professor and the fake Russian agent | website=BBC News | date=2021-03-26 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56524550 | access-date=2021-07-19 | archive-date=19 July 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719120610/https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56524550 | url-status=live }} She has claimed that the Syrian government has not carried out chemical weapon attacks.{{cite news|last1=Keate|first1=Georgie|last2=Blanchard|first2=Sam|date=14 April 2018|title=To say Douma attack was staged is to enter an Orwellian world|language=en|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/professors-shut-down-debate-over-assad-s-chemical-attacks-n899fjdkm|url-access=subscription|access-date=24 November 2020|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127024534/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/professors-shut-down-debate-over-assad-s-chemical-attacks-n899fjdkm|url-status=live}} Experts from the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism have stated that the Syrian Air Force was responsible for the 2017 Khan Shaykhun chemical attack. Beeley has claimed that the attack has been "debunked".

= Accusations against MP Jo Cox =

In 2017, Beeley called the deceased British MP Jo Cox – who had been murdered the previous year – an "al Qaeda advocate" and "warmongering Blairite".[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45258341 "Labour MP Chris Williamson's 'democracy roadshow' criticised"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717122002/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45258341 |date=17 July 2019 }}. BBC News. 21 August 2018.

= COVID-19 =

Beeley has shared conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic. She has alleged that Microsoft founder Bill Gates has ties to Imperial College London and asked if the UK government was "working for Bill Gates?".{{cite news | last=Kennedy | first=Dominic | title=British academics sharing coronavirus conspiracy theories online - News | website=The Times | date=2020-04-10 | url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/british-academics-sharing-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-online-v8nn99zmv | access-date=2021-07-19 | archive-date=3 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603014300/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-academics-sharing-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-online-v8nn99zmv | url-status=live }}