© AFPSyrians look at the damage following air strikes on then rebel-held Douma, east of Damascus, in October 2015
The UK's covert propaganda programmes in war-torn Syria were poorly planned, probably illegal and cost lives, according to a scathing internal review of the initiative that has been seen by Middle East Eye.
Using news agencies, social media, poster campaigns and even children's comics, communications companies working under contract to the British government attempted to undermine both the Assad government and the Islamic State group and bolster elements within the Syrian opposition.
The UK embarked on its propaganda efforts in the country in 2012 and stepped them up dramatically the following year
as the government sought to maintain a strategic foothold after parliament had voted against any British military intervention in the conflict.The series of programmes was given the codename Operation Volute, and those involved in the work talked not of propaganda, but of "strategic communications", or "SC".
However, a review that was conducted during the summer of 2016 concluded that the "fundamental shortcomings" of the initiative included "no conflict analysis [and] no target audience analysis".
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