News from Civsy, based on human monitoring, generative AI tools and retrieval-augumented real time data searchUK-based Syrian journalist and stand-up comedian Malath Alzoubi became the target of a cross-platform harassment campaign in August 2025 following a satirical sketch about Syria's transitional president Ahmad Al-Sharaa. On July 10, Alzoubi posted an Instagram video from one of his comedy performances joking about Al-Sharaa's historic first visit to Paris in May 2025. The sketch referenced Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) well-documented history of dismantling public infrastructure in Idlib province, including railroads sold for scrap metal between 2018 and 2021, suggesting through satire that the group might be similarly tempted by the Eiffel Tower's steel structure.[stj-sy]
Six weeks after posting the video, Alzoubi disclosed on August 23 that he had received threats across X, Instagram, and Facebook. The harassment included insults, homophobic slurs, and references to his current place of residence, with warnings about consequences should he return to Syria. The delayed escalation pattern, characteristic of organized digital campaigns where networks coordinate messaging across platforms, distinguishes this from spontaneous reactions.[x]
Factual Basis for Satire
Alzoubi's comedic premise was grounded in documented reality. Investigative reports by Syrians for Truth and Justice detail systematic infrastructure looting by HTS during its governance of Idlib between 2018 and 2021. On August 6, 2018, HTS issued a circular authorizing the dismantling of the Aleppo-Latakia railroad, with tracks sold for 225-300 Syrian pounds per kilogram of steel. In October 2018, militants excavated oil pipelines in Saraqib valued at approximately 5 million Syrian pounds. That same year, HTS dismantled grain storage facilities, removing electrical equipment, walls, and ceilings for resale. These activities served as crucial revenue streams for the group, which human rights organizations characterized as "the easiest way to make effortless money."[stj-sy]
Syria's Fragile Comedy Scene
The harassment occurs against a backdrop of contested freedom of expression in post-Assad Syria. Following the regime's fall in December 2024, comedians initially reported unprecedented liberty. Damascus's Styria Comedy Club held the city's first uncensored stand-up show in February 2025, with performers celebrating the absence of mukhabarat surveillance that had previously forced them to self-censor specific punchlines. Yet by October 2025, Styria cancelled performances in Hama after co-founder Malke Mardinali warned that "every word is being scrutinized and reports are being filed". That same August, Syrian authorities suspended the Malas Brothers' theatrical production for criticizing the transitional government.[thenationalnews]
This pattern reveals how informal mechanisms, surveillance, denunciation, administrative pressure, persist despite the dismantling of formal censorship apparatus. While journalists report "no censorship at this moment," artists face continuing constraints that exact "high personal and professional costs" for those who challenge authorities.[cpj]
Transnational Digital Threats
Alzoubi's case illustrates persistent vulnerabilities facing Syrian artists in exile. Despite residing in the UK with robust legal protections, diaspora journalists remain exposed to digital harassment campaigns that demonstrate knowledge of their whereabouts, creating online-to-offline escalation risks. Syrian security services have long deployed cross-platform intimidation against exiled journalists, with LGBTQ+ individuals facing particular vulnerability to homophobic harassment, exactly what Alzoubi experienced.[yourdream.liveyourdream]
The timing proves significant: Al-Sharaa's May 2025 Paris visit represented a critical legitimacy-building moment for HTS as it seeks international recognition while managing hardline factions that view Western engagement as ideological betrayal. Satire targeting this diplomatic offensive threatens multiple constituencies simultaneously, creating volatile conditions for artists whose work challenges Syria's new leadership.
