A US-backed Kurdish offensive on Raqqa, as well as the Iraqi army’s operation in Fallujah has recently been one of the hottest topics in global media. However, the media buzz does not reflect the actual situation on the ground and looks more like a “PR operation,” a French analyst said.
Since the beginning of last week, Western newspapers and media outlets have been flooded with news of an offensive on Raqqa, the de-facto capital of Daesh, carried by Kurdish forces backed by Washington.
Some articles praised a large-scale offensive on the Daesh stronghold in Syria while others were more moderate.
However, the actual situation on the ground is complicated and may be different from what we see or read in media, French intelligence and military analyst Alain Rodier told Atlantico.
“When media reports on a military conflict one should not forget that in fact it is nearly impossible to assess, for example, the real number of killed enemies on the ground,” Rodier said.
Parties involved in the Syrian conflict rarely publish on their websites actual photos and video footage from the battlefield, he added.