Nearly two weeks ago, a fictitious article appeared claiming that the brother of a top ISIS leader had converted to Christianity. This article is fake.
Fake News
The counterfeit column was posted by World News Daily Report, and tells the story of two Iraqi brothers who took very different paths in life. According to the story, one brother was a religious fanatic that has become a leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) while the other brother came to American after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. It is stated that the brother who came to America had recently converted to Christianity and was an oil engineer in Texas who was being protected by the U.S. government for testifying against terrorist organizations. In addition, the article contains a number of invented quotations.
World News Daily Report
World News Daily Report is one of several successful satire websites which spawns fake news that some readers mistakenly believe to be real. While some of the articles have an obviously zany twist, some appear just realistic enough for readers to accept as credible news. At times, one of these questionable stories catches on and begins a viral spread through social media sharing.
On each page of the World News Daily Report website there is a disclaimer which tells readers that all the prose on the site is fictional. Clearly, many people seem to miss this.
Debunked Photograph
Often, World News Daily Reports takes old pictures from the web and reuses them in the context of their fictional articles. A photograph included with the article is said to depict the two brothers before their lives took different paths. In actuality, this snapshot depicts two of the 9/11 hijackers who reportedly flew planes into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Their names are Ziad Jarrah (left) and Mohamed Atta (right).
Summary
The brother of a top ISIS leader has not converted to Christianity. This claim comes from World News Daily Report, a website which contains a disclaimer advising readers that all it’s stories are fake. A photograph enclosed within the false article is actually of two 9/11 hijackers.
