CNN journalist Clarissa Ward faced scrutiny after a report on a supposedly liberated victim of the Assad regime revealed he was actually Lieutenant Salama Mohammad Salama of the Syrian Air Force. The man, initially identified as Adel Ghurbal, was said to have committed numerous human rights abuses. Following social media backlash and further investigations, CNN updated its findings, confirming the man’s true identity and past. This incident raises questions about the authenticity of news reports from conflict zones, with Ward already facing criticism for previous coverage.