Footage of Syrian boy 'braving sniper fire' to rescue girl was faked by Norwegian filmmakers
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/footage-of-syrian-boy-braving-sniper-fire-to-rescue-girl-was-faked-by-norwegian-filmmakers-9862600.html
A video appearing to show a young Syrian boy braving sniper fire to rescue a girl was faked by a Norwegian film crew as an experiment, it has emerged.
The unidentified boy was labelled as a hero after footage circulated showing him apparently dodging a shower of bullets with the terrified girl to drag her to safety.
After being shared by Syrian activists and the Shaam Network, it attracted international attention and has so far garnered more than 5 million views on YouTube.
But now a group of Norwegian filmmakers has come forward to say they faked the video and deliberately presented it as reality to “spur debate”.
It was scripted and filmed in Malta over the summer with professional child actors and Syrian refugees volunteering to “react” in the background.