Jackson Hinkle spreads debunked conspiracy theories about the chemical attack in Douma, Syria

Jackson Hinkle, a surfer and DSA member with 23,000 subscribers on YouTube, has repeatedly denied that a chlorine chemical attack — perpetrated by the Syrian Regime — occurred in Douma.

An abandoned channel of Hinkle’s with videos dating back to 2009 show that from an early age he enjoyed surfing and playing the guitar.

“Proud to announce that we endorse Jackson Hinkle for San Clementine City Counsel,” reads a 2018 Facebook post from Democratic Socialists of America- Orange county.

Since then, Hinkle has allied with leading Syria chemical weapon denial outlet The Grayzone. Hosting right-wing propagandist Max Blumenthal on his show, notorious for spouting Islamophobic disinformation that the White Helmets in Syria work with Al-Qaeda while hypocritically feigning compassion for Palestinians.

“LIVE: Max Blumenthal Discusses Palestinian Liberation, Gaza, & Israeli Ceasefire,” reads the title of Hinkle’s interview with Blumenthal.

Hinkle praised Blumenthal for falsely denying the genocide of Uyghurs in China: “Someone recommended your coverage of China and of the Uyghur situation and it just felt like I’d unlocked something in my brain. ”

The video is monetized:

“How the hell are there corpses with frothing mouths?” Dirtbag left YouTuber Vaush asked Hinkle during a monetized debate, pointing out that victims of the chemical attack displayed clear signs of exposure to chlorine while showing no signs of exposure to nerve agents.

Hinkle replied by invoking the ‘dissenting inspectors,’ falsely claiming the investigation was compromised. But the OPCW report — leaked preemptively by Wikileaks — conclusively states that the Assad regime blocked inspectors from pivotal locations and graves while the White Helmets provided accurate locations.

From page 12 and page 13 of the OPCW’s first draft interim report:

Hinkle deployed a baffling, stupid argument that chlorine, which sinks, would escape out of the windows. In fact, the windows being open actually helped the gas descend to the basement. From page 15 of the report:

Hinkle relied on faulty reasoning that helicopters never fly low to the ground when it’s a widely known tactic to avoid ground fire in many combat situations, and there is video of Russian helicopters employing the tactic.

Hinkle claimed that Assad would have no reason to bomb at all, despite Assad’s history of committing chemical attacks as a wider strategy to illegally displace millions upon millions of Syrians.

Chemical weapons have negatively impacted “the long-term resilience and social cohesion of communities in Syria,” disproportionately affecting women and children.

It is up to women to be the breadwinners and head of households as the men and their sons work and fight in the frontline (if they aren’t imprisoned or dead). Some women survive chemical attacks but are left chronically fatigued, other symptoms reported are suffering graver medium and long-term health effects.

From GPPi’s : “Again and again, our interviews revealed that, even in the most resilient communities, chemical weapons are ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back’.”

There have been at least 349 confirmed chemical attacks in Syria since the start of the war, with nine in Douma. It’s noteworthy that Douma was one of the ten most heavily hit towns by number of confirmed incidents.

Hinkle boldly claimed that Assad wasn’t “necessarily” running helicopter raids over the city, to the contrary, the first draft interim report notes the city was being shelled. He also falsely asserted that Assad would have no reason to use chemical weapons because he was on the verge of victory — a ludicrous talking point pro-Assad commentators use.

From page 20 of the OPCW’s first draft interim report:

Ignorant that there is footage of the canister, Hinkle alleged repeatedly that Vaush said there is a video of the bombs being dropped in Douma.

But Vaush never said this, explaining that there is a video of the victims suffering from the chemical attack.

Indeed, the video from New York Times Visual Investigations specifically states that “clearly the bomb on the balcony was designed to drop from the sky, and that the damage of the casing tells us that it did. Deep tents in the tip of the bomb made first impact consistent with it falling nose down from above and piercing the ceiling. Most importantly, this imprint, revealed on the underside of the canister. Lying beside it is a crumpled metal lattice that we think covered the balcony, its dimensions precisely fit the patterns seared onto the canister. This imprint was made by the force of impact when the bomb crashed through the metal lattice.”