Turkish-backed Syrian factions target TikTok influencers in Aleppo
TikTok content creators in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib face a spate of arrests over accusations of corrupting the public morality of the local Syrian community.
ALEPPO, Syria — The Directorate of Education of the Azaz local council in the north of Aleppo, affiliated with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), issued a decision May 29 dismissing a female teacher in one of the city’s schools over a TikTok video.
Another teacher affiliated with the Directorate of Education in the city of Azaz told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “The directorate dismissed teacher Hanadi Othman who works at the Ali ibn Abi Talib Primary School, a decision that was effective as of Sunday, May 29, over a TikTok video filmed inside the classroom in which Othman showed her feet — nothing revealing.”
The video appears to have angered some TikTok users, denouncing it as in direct conflict with the values of education.
Other users commented that the video was offensive to the educational process because it shows the teacher putting her feet on her desk in front of her while singing an Arabic song along the lines of “I never liked education and never thought of going to university.”
