The SMART News Agency is an independent online

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

-language media agency that mainly operates in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. It is owned by the Syrian Media Action Revolution Team (SMART), the largest independent

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

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 A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...

s into Syria to broadcast content. In 2014, the

European Endowment for Democracy The European Endowment for Democracy is a European non-governmental organisation with the stated purpose of promoting democracy, particularly in the European Neighbourhood, Turkey and the Western Balkans. It was established in 2013 following a p ...

, based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, gave SMART a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

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

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

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, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

in Taftanaz. Two days later, SMART's office in Deir ez-Zor was raided by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

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

White Helmets White Helmets may refer to: * White Helmets Commission, a body of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship * White Helmets (Syrian Civil War), a volunteer organization in Syria and Turkey ** ''The White Helmets'' ...

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

References

{{reflist

External links

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