Vanessa Beeley (born 1963/1964) is a British activist and blogger known for sharing

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

and disinformation about the Syrian civil war and about the Syrian volunteer organisation the White Helmets.

Early life and career

Beeley is the daughter of former British diplomat Harold Beeley. Initially, she worked as a consultant to a

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

company in the Middle East.

Activism

Beeley has travelled to Palestine where she lived through Israeli bombardments. In 2014, she started her blog titled ''The Wall Will Fall'' in which she supported the Palestinian cause. 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 The president of Syria (), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Syria. The president directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army and Armed ...

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

as part of a US Peace Council delegation, describing it as her "proudest moment". According to

Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in Ju ...

, Beeley was on the steering committee for the Syria Solidarity Movement.Davis, Charles (30 September 2019)
"Pro-Assad Lobby Group Rewards Bloggers On Both The Left And The Right"
. Bellingcat. After visiting Syria, Beeley went to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to meet Russia's deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov and director of information and press

Maria Zakharova Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (, ; born 24 December 1975) is a Russian politician who serves as the director of the information and press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federa ...

. An article by

Janine di Giovanni Janine di Giovanni is an author, journalist, and war correspondent currently serving as the Executive Director of The Reckoning Project. She is a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, a non-resident Fellow at ...

in ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'' described Bogdanov as "

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

's point man on Syria". Beeley has frequently appeared on the Russian government-owned networks RT and

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space progra ...

commenting on the Syrian war. In 2019, two of Beeley's planned talks at universities in Canada, organised by the

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

chapter of the

Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts. It was established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against the impe ...

, were cancelled after a backlash. The

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

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''. She has also written articles for ''

MintPress News ''MintPress News'' (''MPN'') is an American far-left news website. It was founded and edited by Mnar Adley and was launched in January 2012, and also publishes the ''MintCast'' podcast. The site covers political, economic, foreign affairs and en ...

''.https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PDFappendix_starbird_jan3.pdf In 2019, she received the "

Serena Shim Serena Shim (, ''Serena Ali Suhaim''; October 10, 1985 – October 19, 2014) was a Lebanese-American journalist for Iranian state-owned Press TV.

Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism" from the

Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees Paul Larudee (born April 25, 1946) is an Iranian-born American political activist involved in the pro-State of Palestine, Palestinian movement. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, he is involved with the International Solidarity Movement and w ...

, which

describes as a "pro-Assad lobby group". Beeley has claimed to have been a finalist for the

Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism The Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, named for the war correspondent, Martha Gellhorn, was established in 1999 by the Martha Gellhorn Trust. The Trust is a UK-registered charity. The award is founded on the following principles: The award ...

, 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)
"Mayday: How the White Helmets and James Le Mesurier got pulled into a deadly battle for truth"
. BBC News.

Views

Some of Beeley's controversial views include a belief that the human rights NGO

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

is a "fake" group, that the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting in Paris was a

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...

operation, and that

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

was not responsible for the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

Syria

Beeley is a member of the

Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media The Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (SPM) is a controversial group of academics and activists whose stated purpose is to study propaganda and information operations surrounding the Syrian civil war. It was formed by environmental p ...

which has attracted criticism for disputing the veracity of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War. In February 2018, Beeley encouraged her readers to report a list of news outlets and journalists – including the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, ''

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' – for allegedly violating the UK Terrorism Act.Mackey, Robert (21 February 2020)
"Homeland Security Algorithm Revokes U.S. Visa of War Crimes Investigator Eyal Weizman"
''The Intercept''. The journalists and media outlets listed by Beeley had all been critical of Syrian president

. 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 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 ...

and in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, of being a fraudulent terrorist organisation that engages in

organ harvesting Organ procurement (also called surgical recovery) is a surgical procedure that removes organs or tissues for reuse, typically for organ transplantation. Procedures If the organ donor is human, most countries require that the donor be legally d ...

, and that its volunteers are a legitimate military target.Kennedy, Dominic (28 April 2018)
"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 The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

that linked the White Helmets to

. 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

Fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...

website

Snopes ''Snopes'' (), formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source ...

gave a rating of "false" for Beeley's claim that the White Helmets were linked to terrorists.Palma, Bethania (15 December 2016)
"Are the Syrian 'White Helmets' Rescue Organization Terrorists?"
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

which alleges that the 2018

Douma chemical attack On 7 April 2018, a chemical warfare attack was launched in the city of Douma, Syria by the military of the Ba'athist regime led by Bashar al-Assad. Medics and witnesses reported that it caused the deaths of between 40 and 50 people and inju ...

was staged by the White Helmets. She has claimed that the Syrian government has not carried out chemical weapon attacks. Experts from the

OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism The United Nations Security Council adopted United Nations Security Council resolution 2235 (2015) on 7 August 2015, in response to use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War. The resolution condemned "any use of any toxic chemical, such as c ...

have stated that the

Syrian Air Force The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Forc ...

was responsible for the 2017

Khan Shaykhun chemical attack The Khan Shaykhun chemical attack took place on 4 April 2017 on the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate of Syria. The town was reported to have been struck by an airstrike by government forces followed by massive civilian chemica ...

. Beeley has claimed that the attack has been "debunked".

Accusations against MP Jo Cox

In 2017, Beeley called the deceased British MP

Jo Cox Helen Joanne Cox (née Leadbeater; 22 June 1974 – 16 June 2016) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016. She was a member of the Labour Party. Born ...

– who had been murdered the previous year – an "al Qaeda advocate" and "warmongering Blairite"."Labour MP Chris Williamson's 'democracy roadshow' criticised"
. BBC News. 21 August 2018.

COVID-19

Beeley has shared

about the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. She has alleged that Microsoft founder

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

has ties to

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

and asked if the UK government was "working for Bill Gates?".

References

External links

Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beeley, Vanessa 1960s births Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British anti-Zionists 9/11 conspiracy theorists COVID-19 conspiracy theorists British conspiracy theorists British women bloggers Writers on the Middle East People of the Syrian civil war British expatriates in France British expatriates in Syria British activists for Palestinian solidarity Women in the Syrian civil war