SyriaUntold

{{Short description|Media platform for articles related to Syria}} {{Infobox magazine | title = SyriaUntold | logo = | logo_size =  | image_file =  | image_size =  | image_alt = | image_caption = | native_name = حكاية ما انحكت | editor =  | editor_title =  | previous_editor = | staff_writer = | photographer = | category = Civil society, culture, economy, environment, gender, and Syrian cities | frequency = | format = Online, published under Creative Commons | circulation = | publisher = UntoldStories e.V., Berlin, Germany | paid_circulation = | unpaid_circulation = | circulation_year = | total_circulation = | founder = | founded = | firstdate = 2013 | finaldate =  | finalnumber = | company = | country = Syria | based = Berlin, Germany | language = English, Arabic | website = {{URL|https://syriauntold.com/en/}} | issn = 2944-764X | eissn = | oclc = 1477620523 | module = }} '''''SyriaUntold''''' (Arabic: {{Lang|ar|حكاية ما انحكت}}) is a bilingual media platform that publishes stories, features, testimonies, and cultural reporting related to Syria and the Syrian diaspora. Founded in 2013, it publishes mainly in Arabic and English and operates as an online platform. It is registered as a nongovernmental organization in Berlin, Germany.

== History and profile == ''SyriaUntold'' was founded in 2013 as an online media initiative focused on producing narrative coverage of events and stories from Syria.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-22 |title=SyriaUntold|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/author/syria-untold/ |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=openDemocracy |language=en}}</ref> The platform was created to disseminate critical perspectives on Syria and Syrians through testimonies, features, and journalistic articles.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Syria Untold · Contributor profile · Global Voices |url=https://globalvoices.org/author/syria-untold/ |access-date=2026-03-12 |website=Global Voices |language=en}}</ref> It covers topics such as civil society, culture, economy, environment, gender, and Syrian cities. The website is published both in English and Arabic, with three articles in Kurdish language published in 2024. Stories and news about Kurds in Syria have appeared in other articles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Off the scales: a Kurdish tale of absent justice {{!}} SyriaUntold {{!}} حكاية ما انحكت |url=https://syriauntold.com/2026/01/21/off-the-scales-a-kurdish-tale-of-absent-justice/ |access-date=2026-03-12 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2015, ''SyriaUntold ''was registered as a nongovernmental organization in Berlin, Germany.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Joudi |first=Reem |title=Case Study: Syria Untold |url=https://worldhumanitiesreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/WHR-AR_23.case-study_SyriaUntold.pdf| publisher=World Humanities Report; Arab Council for the Social Sciences |year=2023|access-date=2026-03-11|language=en |website=worldhumanitiesreport.org}}</ref>

Following their goal of publishing in-depth information about Syria and to combine storytelling with other journalistic techniques, ''SyriaUntold'' features work by journalists, researchers, and writers from Syria, the Syrian diaspora as well as other contributors specialized in the North Africa and West Asia region. Examples of contributors listed on the platform include researchers in media and migration, journalists covering cultural and social developments, and editors working across ''SyriaUntold'' and its associated publication ''UntoldMag.'' It publishes a wide range of media, including narrative features, personal testimonies from the Syrian civil war, cultural and political analysis, as well as visual media, including illustrations, photographs, and videos.<ref name=":0" />

In line with the platform's reporting on LGBTQ people, their 2010 article about the suicide of Egyptian activist Sarah Hegazi described how Hegazi’s death triggered grief, fear, and identification within Syrian queer communities. The article noted that some artists and other cultural figures expressed solidarity, sometimes at personal risk, indicating a gradual change in public attitudes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sarah Hegazi in Syria {{!}} SyriaUntold {{!}} حكاية ما انحكت |url=https://syriauntold.com/2020/10/20/sarah-hegazi-in-syria/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023081015/https://syriauntold.com/2020/10/20/sarah-hegazi-in-syria/ |archive-date=2020-10-23 |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=syriauntold.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

According to their website, ''SyriaUntold'' is part of the broader “UntoldStories” ecosystem, which includes the global‑focus platform ''UntoldMag'' and the Mena Art Gallery. ''UntoldMag'' refers to ''SyriaUntold'' as its “sister website” and directs readers to it for in‑depth coverage of Syria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria: Forever is gone, forever Archives - Untold |url=https://untoldmag.org/category/dossiers/syria-forever-is-gone-forever/ |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=untoldmag.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Its content is released under a Creative Commons license.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} SyriaUntold {{!}} حكاية ما انحكت |url=https://syriauntold.com/en/ |access-date=2026-03-11 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Reception == In 2013, ''SyriaUntold'' joined the non-profit organization for grassroots citizen writers Global Voices. The Global voices website has since republished articles from ''SyriaUntold'' in English, Spanish, French and Russian as part of a content-sharing agreement.<ref name=":1" />

In their 2014 article that translates as "Syria. How do you tell the story?" the London-based Arabic news media Al-Araby Al-jadeed discussed the questions "Who writes history and how?" in the age of multimedia that "has broken the strategic monopoly enjoyed by the victors of the past." The article reported about ''SyriaUntold'' presenting social and human stories as a complement to the image of the Syrian civil resistance, which usually was dominated by military and political news. The portal's editorial approach was described as first compiling a database of what Syrians publish on social media. After verifying this information, these accounts are presented it in narrative form by another editorial team. Finally, accompanying videos, photos or artworks are added to the stories.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=2014-05-27 |title=سوريا.. كيف تُحكى الحكاية |trans-title=Syria. How do you tell the story? |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%81-%D8%AA%D9%8F%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240730091715/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%81-%D8%AA%D9%8F%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9 |archive-date=2024-07-30 |access-date=2026-03-11 |work=www.alaraby.co.uk |language=ar-AR}}</ref>

In 2016, assitant professor in international media and communication studies Yazan Badran<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yazan Badran |url=https://researchportal.vub.be/en/persons/yazan-badran/ |access-date=2026-03-12 |website=Vrije Universiteit Brussel |language=en-GB}}</ref> from Vrije Universiteit Brussel contributed a research paper for a conference at Lund University in Sweden titled "SyriaUntold and the anxiety of (digital) memory". This presentation introduced SyriaUntold's work and explained some of the journalistic techniques it uses. Its approach to storytelling was presented as crucial, as it presents stories without compromising their importance as pieces of evidence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Badran |first=Yazan |date=2016-03-03 |title=SyriaUntold and the anxiety of (digital) memory: Virtual Zones of Peace and Conflict |url=https://researchportal.vub.be/en/publications/syriauntold-and-the-anxiety-of-digital-memory/ |access-date=2026-03-12}}</ref>

In 2020 the German Hannchen Foundation funded eight articles in ''SyriaUntold'' about LGBTQ people in Syria and the wider Arab world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hannchen-Mehrzweck-Stiftung (hms) |title=David-Kato-Fonds {{!}} Hannchen-Mehrzweck-Stiftung – Stiftung für queere Bewegungen |url=https://www.hms-stiftung.de/de/David-Kato-Fonds//#David-Kato-Fonds |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=David-Kato-Fonds |language=de}}</ref>

In 2021, the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon and the Samir Kassir Foundation awarded their Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press in the category for investigative articles to researcher and investigative journalist Sultan Jalabi from Syria. His report entitled “Syria’s lucrative detainment market: How Damascus exploits detainees’ families for money”, published by ''SyriaUntold'' on 16 April 2020, described 100 cases of families of detainees in prisons of the Syrian Ba'athist regime and their exploitation in a "complex web of financial transactions within the prison, security and judiciary system."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The European Union rewards five journalists during the 2021 edition of the Samir Kassir Award {{!}} EEAS |url=https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/lebanon/european-union-rewards-five-journalists-during-2021-edition-samir-kassir-award_en?s=203 |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=www.eeas.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

A case study published in 2023 by the World Humanities Report described ''SyriaUntold'' as an online media site that employs multiple forms of storytelling, including survivor testimonies and cultural features, to present critical perspectives on Syrian life.<ref name=":0" />

== See also == * Media coverage of the Syrian civil war * ''Enab Baladi''

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book | last1=De Angelis | first1=Enrico | last2=Badran | first2=Yazan | title=The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of the Middle East | chapter=Social Media and Contentious Politics. Revisiting the Debate a Decade after the Beginning of the Arab Uprisings | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2021-04-14 | isbn=978-0-19-008747-0 | doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190087470.013.53}}

== External links ==

* [https://syriauntold.com/en Official website] * ''[https://www.fikalam.com/arabic-text/syriauntold SyriaUntold]'' on fikalam.com * ''[https://cities.syriauntold.com/ SyriaUntold - Cities in Revolution]''

* [https://menagallery.art/ Mena Art Gallery] – a project of ''Untold Stories''

{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:SyriaUntold}} Category:2013 establishments in Syria Category:Arabic-language magazines Category:Magazines established in 2013