With thousands of Syrian refugees now arriving in countries all around the world, many of those immigrants (and citizens still there) continue to voice anger over a public relations campaign launched by their nation’s government this past summer. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the national news agency of Syria, released the campaign.
“Fun in the sun” was the central theme behind a massive online campaign marketing war-torn Syria as a destination of choice for both tourists and locals alike. The public relations effort promoted regime-sponsored art fairs, film festivals, and fashion shows — and urged Syrians to share their “happy” experiences of summer on Twitter using the hashtag #SummerInSyria.
As you might imagine, it didn’t go as planned from day one and the tone-deaf campaign is still being ridiculed.
➤ Syrians respond to ‘summer in Syria’ tweet with photographic realities of war