The Numbers Don’t Add Up: Syria’s Fuel Crisis and the Politics of Misinformation

The Numbers Don’t Add Up: Syria’s Fuel Crisis and the Politics of Misinformation

The problem with Syria’s fuel crisis isn’t the decision to raise prices. Given global market pressures and the economic fallout of years of war, higher fuel costs were hardly a surprise. The deeper issue lies in the government’s narrative: contradictory numbers, opaque explanations, inflated claims of progress, and promises that collapse under scrutiny. On December 23, 2025, Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir appeared on Salon al-Jumhuriya on th…