News agency’s ‘Summer in Syria’ hashtag opens door for criticism

A hashtag aimed at tourists instead drew criticism of the country’s bloody civil war and pointed condemnation of President Bashar al-Assad.

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You do not own the hashtags you create.

A few organizations, including the New York Police Department, J.P. Morgan and the Conservative Political Action Committee have figured that out the hard way. You can add Syria’s state news agency, SANA, to the list.

In an attempt to drum up enthusiasm for tourism, SANA tweeted this Monday, looking for vacation photos:

Now that #summer is upon us, snap us your moments of summer in #Syria using the hashtag #SummerInSyria pic.twitter.com/sutvUuZUoj

— SANA English (@SANA_English) June 22, 2015

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