John Cantlie, a British journalist,taken hostage by ISIS reports from Kobani.
John Cantlie, a British journalist,taken hostage by ISIS reports from Kobani.YouTube

The recent ISIS video featuring British journalist John Cantlie -- a hostage held by the Islamic State -- claims that the entire news report was done in Kobani and goes on to suggest that the Syria-Turkey border town has been completely taken over by ISIS. However, many now claim that the video could be fake. 

Since the appearance of the sixth ISIS video on 27 October featuring Cantlie, multiple reports have pointed out that the entire video appears to be scripted. The video is believed to be a propaganda material to demoralise the Kurds and 'inspire' the ISIS 'fanboys.'

An NBC report calling the bluff on ISIS labelled the 'Inside Ayn al-Islam' video a 'Fake News Report.' 

Similarly an AOL report observed that in the video, Cantlie appears to be reading against his own will from a script that forces him to criticise Western governments and media for receiving news only from "Kurdish commanders and White House press secretaries." 

Admist fear that the British journalist has been turned, an official statement from Reporters Without Borders noted that Cantlie has been "subjected to unprecedented psychological pressure, Cantlie has no choice but to cooperate because Islamic State has not hesitated to use the most barbaric means to dispatch hostages and media workers who refused to be enlisted in its information war.

"Cantlie must be freed without delay so that he ceases to be used as standard-bearer of Islamic State's news manipulation."

There are also many on Twitter who claim that the entire Cantlie video that is said to have been shot in Kobani (also spelled Kobane) is fake. 

Online forum debates claim that the video seems to have been shot using green screen, and then has been super imposed with old images from the city of Kobani.

Twitter user @AJANSAMED calling the video fake noted that the footage appears to be outdated as the Turkish flag shown on a building from Kobani by Cantlie was taken down on 15 October.

Another user @kyaksar noted that the weather in Kobani currently is rainy, but the video appears to have been shot on a clear sunny day.

‏@roscatha tweeted that the ISIS has proven its talent of using "highly slick production techniques'" and has used Chroma key, a special effects / post-production technique for composing the video stream.

"#JohnCantlie video is a fake - not shot in #Kobane. #ISIS used chroma key. He was videod in front of green screen - NOT in #Kobane #SFX," he tweeted.

Similarly another image posted on Twitter found that the Cantlie video in Kobani is fake as the image of the British Journalist appears to have been super-imposed.

In all probability it is suggested that the video is a mere ISIS propaganda material. While it is true that ISIS has advanced into the city and has even occupied several parts of the town, the Kurdish militia still are giving the Sunni terrorist group a hard-time. .

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