Russia vs the West: The information war over Palmyra

We examine why the Palmyra story's significance depends on where you get the news; plus, covering Obama's Cuba visit.



In May 2015, when the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra was captured by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) the western media foreshadowed worst-case scenarios for the people of the city and the Roman ruins situated there.

But when President Bashar al-Assad's forces backed by Russian warplanes liberated the city late last month, western news outlets gave the story short shrift - despite the blow taken by ISIL and what it means for the Syrian civil war.

In stark contrast was the coverage beaming out of Russia. Domestic media there as well as international outlets in Russia - like RT and Sputnik - gave the story extensive treatment, making the case that Palmyra may serve to vindicate President Vladimir Putin's intervention in a war for which the West, as the Russians like to say, has run out of answers.