Full title: Syrian passports include a photo of Souq al-Hamidiyah, a famous historic marketplace in Damascus. Apparently, the image was taken from the internet without removing the photographer’s watermark, “Wassim al-Asmar Photography,” which means the watermark ended up being printed on Syrian passports.

The image used on Syrian passports features a photograph of Souq al-Hamidiyah, a historic marketplace in Damascus. The photo appears to have been sourced from the internet without removing the photographer’s watermark, “Wassim al-Asmar Photography,” resulting in the watermark being printed on the passports.

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  • Enkrod@feddit.orgEnglish
    30·
    1 day ago

    Depending on the state of the Syrian justice system someone is either going to cash out or “donate” the image to avoid pissing off the government.

    • TheJesusaurus@piefed.caEnglish
      20·
      1 day ago

      This is one of those ones where like, I’d absolutely have donated if the government said they liked my photo and wanted to put it in the passport. But since you did it without asking now I’ll burn my whole life down if I have to to make sure you never get it

      • harc@szmer.infoEnglish
        3·
        21 hours ago

        But it is Syria so it is as likely that some government aligned elements decide to burn your whole life down to keep you from making someone look incompetent. That is if the guy survived the war.

  • k0e3@lemmy.caEnglish
    8·
    1 day ago

    I can’t find anything about this online. Anyone have a source?

    • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      10·
      1 day ago

      I don’t know either. This is reposted from reddit, and no one there even thought to ask. However someone did link to the photographer’s page on facebook and another user claims to have checked a real passport and confirm it, but this is the internet (and worse, reddit) so take it with a grain of salt. If this is true, it’s possible that the reddit OP is the first person to publicize this.

      • k0e3@lemmy.caEnglish
        21·
        1 day ago

        Thanks for the info! Of course, the dumb-dumbs over at Reddit wouldn’t questions it…

        Anyway, the last redesign-related news I can find is Jan. 2025. There’s no way that not a single Syrian noticed that obvious mistake for over 1 year, right?? I also couldn’t find that specific photo on the first page or tagged photos section on his facebook (I didn’t bother to scroll down any further because I’d need an account and… FUUUUCK THAT). You’d think a photo that was used for the country’s passport would be tagged on his page, right?

        Lastly, even if this were real, it’s not really mildlyinfuriating. It’s more like nottheonion or even worldnews.

        Sorry, rant over.

        • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
          3·
          21 hours ago

          It’s the background of only one page of many in the passport. I’m sure someone has noticed this, but I can easily believe that anyone who’s noticed never bothered to make a big deal out of it, so it never became widely known. If it were me, I’d probably just show a friend, we’d share a laugh (or a mock) and that would be the end of it. Even if I wanted to make the whole world know, I don’t really have a way to make that happen short of posting on social media and hoping it gets picked up - which is, presumably, what the Reddit OP did.