No, this structure inspired by the State of Liberty was not made by a Syrian artist from the ruins of his house.

What is the claim?

A photograph of a statue made from rubble resembling the Statue of Liberty is circulating on social media, claiming it was built by a Syrian artist from the debris of his destroyed home.

A social network on X (formerly Twitter) posted this photo with the caption: “This was built by a Syrian artist from the ruins of his house. With the slogan: “This is the freedom they brought us. »

This claim has been viral on social media since 2016 and has gained traction again recently. Archived versions of the articles sharing the image linking it to the ruins of a Syrian house can be seen here, here, here, here and here.

Screenshot of social media posts claiming the Statue of Liberty replica was created by a Syrian artist from the debris of his ruined home. (Source: Facebook, X / Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we discovered that this image is from 2012 and was created digitally by a Syrian artist. It is not a real physical structure.

What are the facts ?

A reverse image search led us to the original photograph (archived here) posted by a Syrian artist, Tammam Azzam, on his official Facebook account on September 9, 2012. The photo is captioned “Statue of Liberty (Photomontage) “.

Screenshot of the original photo published in 2012. (Source: Tammam Azzam-Facebook / Modified by Logically Facts)

We then conducted a search using relevant keywords and came across an interview given by Azzam to Al-Arabiya News, a public news channel based in Saudi Arabia. In the interview, Azzam mentioned that the work was created using computer photomontage and that it is not a real statue. He added in the interview: “The Statue of Liberty in New York does not represent American politics and I used it only as a symbol of freedom. At the time, the work carried a message of optimism despite all the destruction in Syria. “

A photo montage is a single image out of two or made from more original and/or existing images.

Logical Facts contacted Azzam, who called the claim false and said: “I created this montage as a symbol of the freedom that the Syrian people have sought and continue to seek in a country that has been devastated by the response from the regime to its demonstrations. » Reiterating that it is a photo montage of the Statue of Liberty, he added: “The photo in question was indeed created by me entirely digitally, using scanned elements and graphics, which is evident in many parts.”

Who is Tammam Azzam?

Azam was born in Damascus, Syria and was later forced to flee the Syrian civil war. In 2011, he moved to Dubai and currently works and lives in Berlin, Germany. He expresses the loss and tragedy of his home country through his art forms.

Often using visual metaphors, Azzam’s notable works include Syrian Museuma series of photomontages featuring the works of leading European artists, drawing comparisons between humanity’s greatest achievements and its capacity for destruction. have a good trip is another series of photomontages depicting a ruined building attached to a group of balloons hovering over various monuments and political headquarters.

The Syrian Civil War

In 2011, dissatisfaction with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has led to widespread protests and demonstrations in various regions of Syria. The Syrian government responded by employing forceful tactics involving the police and military to end the unrest. Despite these measures, protests persisted until a full-blown civil war in 2012 and eventually gave rise to multiple rebel factions in Syria in 2013. By 2022, the United Nations estimated that more than 306,000 civilians had been killed since March 2011 in the country.

While the United States has shown its support for opposition groups since the start of the war, it only became officially involved militarily in 2014 against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), Al Jazeera noted . The United States designated Syria a “state sponsor of terrorism” in 1979 and imposed additional sanctions on the country in 2004. Under former President Donald Trump, some of the U.S. troops in Syria were withdrawn in 2019.

The verdict

Social media users falsely claimed that the viral image showed a statue inspired by the Statue of Liberty built from debris by a Syrian artist. This is actually a digitally created artwork from 2012. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.