The SMART News Agency () is an independent online

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

-language

media agency Media agencies advise companies on how and where to advertise, and how to present a positive image of themselves to the public. Primary services include advertising, public relations and other forms of media management. Media agencies were first l ...

that mainly operates in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It was owned by the Syrian Media Action Revolution Team (SMART), the largest independent opposition media network operating in Syria. Launched in August 2013, the agency releases daily news content, including photographs, videos, and text. As of October 2015, the agency has 300 staff members.

History

Syrian activists based in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

established the Syrian Media Action Revolution Team (SMART) in April 2011. One of its co-founders was Chamsy Sarkis, who would later become the founder and CEO of SMART News Agency. SMART cooperates with other media organizations such as the Association for the Support of Free Media and Enab Baladi. Part of their work included smuggling

modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...

s into Syria to broadcast content. In 2014, the European Endowment for Democracy, based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, gave SMART a €129,000 grant. In September 2015, SMART News Agency and Okio Report released an interactive

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

video on the aftermath of the Battle of Jisr al-Shughur. On 26 September, Obada Ghazal, the SMART journalist who filmed the video, was killed by an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

in Taftanaz. Two days later, SMART's office in

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...

was raided by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

and two SMART staff members were abducted. In June 2016, SMART News Agency released another VR video, this time on the White Helmets in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

References

External links

*{{Telegram, id=SMARTNews_Agency
Official SMART News Agency websiteOfficial SMART News Agency Youtube channelOfficial SMART News Agency Twitter account
Arab news agencies Internet properties established in 2013 Arabic-language websites News agencies based in Syria

History

See also

References

External links