ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Twitter account of a six-year-old Syrian girl believed to be writing accounts of daily life in the city of Idlib has become the center of controversy, particularly between the US and Russian foreign ministries who accuse each other of using the account for propaganda purposes.
Russia blames Western media for using the account as a tool against a possible operation by the Syrian army against rebels who are in control of the city.
"Much attention for a child," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a briefing on Thursday. "As if she is the only child in Idlib, and the entire international community’s attention has been focused on her."
At the time of writing this story, Hala, the six-year-old girl has 742 followers. Among them such international media outlets the BBC, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and Radio Liberty, said the Russian foreign ministry.
Zakharova said the West accused Russia of waging propaganda wars while they did the same themselves.
“I want to talk, and the whole world hears my voice.” Hala wrote in one of her recent tweets.
“I am from Idlib, I am not a terrorist.” she wrote in another.
The US Department of State’s Global Engagement Center responded to the Russian claims denying that some Western media outlets has supported Hala by following her Twitter account.
The center attached a video review of Hala's account to prove that none of the media outlets mentioned by Moscow followed her, calling it “just a Russian propaganda” accompanied by the hashtag #Russia_protects_Bashar in Arabic.
Hala is believed to be supported by her mother who is seen teaching her English in one of the videos. Most of her videos include her daily activities such as playing with other kids.
She joined Twitter in July 2018 when Syrian President revealed plans for an offensive to drive rebel groups from Idlib.
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