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Archive 1Archive 2Archive 3

Murderer category

Should we keep the Category of Mass murderers for him? 2600:100C:A218:9A7B:BC5E:E0AD:C8F9:553 (talk) 15:31, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

Oh, also.
A person with excessive trust in friends (or, alleged friends).

His "friend". Skillfully armed mercenaries! Russian-speaking mujahideen.

To support ISIS. (an info (from NATO Headquarters, Brussels) How Bashar al-Assad ( president of Etat , political Liader ) could be so wrong?!
::: ( Allahu Akbar!)195.244.167.108 (talk) 18:04, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 9 December 2024 (2)

He arrived in Moscow with a fortune of 2 Billion dollars[1] 2603:6010:BB00:288B:FCC5:101:23D3:AAFF (talk) 17:43, 9 December 2024 (UTC)

That is a reprint of a Daily Mail article. Per WP:DAILYMAIL, that is not a reliable source. Cullen328 (talk) 09:39, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
 Already done: Already says it in the article. Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 18:21, 9 December 2024 (UTC)
@Cullen328. I didn't add the Daily Mail citation since there already was one in the article. Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 14:25, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-humiliated-assads-new-life-in-russia-with-their-2bn-fortune/ss-AA1vxung?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=0f1a5115629d4babb2ff1334b96ca8bb&ei=7#image=3 Msn 9 December 2024}

Semi-protected edit request on 10 December 2024

"who died on 10 June 2000" change to "who had died on 10 June 2000" (The use of the past perfect tense is more accurate due to the chronological order, as the death of Assad's father occurred before his election as president on July 17, 2000.)

"taking charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1998" change to "took charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1998" (This change is due to the use of the simple past tense, which is more appropriate for this type of sentence) Mehran 232345 (talk) 09:32, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

 Done Bowler the Carmine | talk 20:31, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Mass murderer category

Would the mass murderer category be appropriate for him? Yes his regime was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands but would it be appropriate to add it for him? 2600:100C:A218:9A7B:F802:7211:6E15:A488 (talk) 12:51, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

While you're probably thinking of mass killing and not mass murder, it's tricky, Assad was considered a dictator and was probably responding for the deaths of many people, but that's guesswork at this point. soetermans. ↑↑↓↓←→←→ B A TALK 14:30, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

War criminal category

Would a war criminal category be appropriate here since he was accused of war crimes? 2600:100C:A218:9A7B:EC8D:E7CC:DCB:F6A2 (talk) 20:36, 15 December 2024 (UTC)

Presidency of Bashar al-Assad page

The Presidency of Bashar al-Assad page is blank while this BLP covers his presidency in detail. Is there a split in agreement or should that page be deleted? Titan2456 (talk) 05:32, 14 December 2024 (UTC)

There was no consensus for a split; an editor was bold and changed it from a redirect to the bones of an article. It should be changed back to a redirect because there is no content. Yue🌙 06:06, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
@WikiCleanerMan do you agree? Titan2456 (talk) 15:15, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
I have begun adding information borrowing from Assad's article. Both articles should not be duplicating information entirely. I think the main Assad article needs to be trimmed down from about his presidency because it contains too much information that can be solely on this article. On a side not, this article contains too many images as well. --WikiCleanerMan (talk) 15:58, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
My suggestion would be to split the current presidency section to that article. Add all of the content under this article's presidency section to that article and you can summarize it here. Titan2456 (talk) 15:35, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

is he a politician???

Why is this dictator even called "politician"? Was he elected? Was the election free and fair? Dear wikipedia, why don't you refer hitler, stalin or mao as a "politician"? I mean the "d-word" is so rude... 92.249.214.251 (talk) 13:03, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

his dad was made leader by a military coup and since bashar came to power if you talked ONE WORD bad about him, your children will get poisoned and you will never see their face again, and you would be killed or forced in the army. 2001:1970:55E8:7F00:60F6:D4AD:9672:10DE (talk) 19:41, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
These are the opening sentence of the Wikipedia articles on Hitler, Stalin and Mao:
"Adolf Hitler (German: [ˈaːdɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ] ⓘ; 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician..."
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; 18 December [O.S. 6 December] 1878 – 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician..."
Mao Zedong (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese politician..."
What's your point? DeCausa (talk) 20:50, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
Well, those three were in politics, before becoming dictators and Bashar inhereted presidency from his father. Imperator159 (talk) 10:29, 8 December 2024 (UTC)
Mao Tse-Tung came to power with a civil war. What's your point? Deus vult fratres! (talk) 13:28, 8 December 2024 (UTC)
"was he elected?"
Politician does not mean 'elected.'
"wikipedia why don't you refer to Hitler [et al] as politicians?"
Hitler, Stalin and Mao are called politicians on Wikipedia.
"why is this dictator even called a politician"
All dictators are politicians.
Only a politician can be called a dictator.
It is unnecessary to litter talk pages asking imaginary questions you should have answered by looking up 'politician'
"any person who has participated in governing or making policies or laws, especially holding a position or office in government" Pimprncess (talk) 21:09, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

Image update

I feel like the image needs to be updated, and I have some alternatives, but instead of doing it on my volition I am going to let you all decide.

  • A
    A
  • B
    B
  • C
    C
  • D
    D

PopularGames (talk) 23:58, 8 December 2024 (UTC)

And why do we need to change the image? The original one looks fine to me. Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 00:05, 9 December 2024 (UTC)
  • Support C : smiling seems to always be favored on politicians portraits, same rule should apply to dictators as well.

Semi-protected edit request on 22 December 2024

In November 2024, a coalition of Syrian rebels succeeded in liberating many cities from the regime forces[7][8] On the morning of 8 December, as rebel troops first entered Damascus, Assad fled to Moscow and was granted political asylum by the Russian government.[9][10] Later that day, Damascus fell to rebel forces, and Assad's regime collapsed. Syrian people filled the streets with joy, celebrating the end of a dictatorship-era.[11][12][13] NourKh86 (talk) 13:34, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Skitash (talk) 15:54, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

allegiance has the new Syrian interim gov flag instead of Ba'athist Syria flag

i dont think assad is or wants to be tied to the interim government, i think his allegiance lies with Ba'athist Syria lol LeonVolturno (talk) 21:52, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

dictator

Editor @Therealbey removed my addition of the "dictator" label in the opening paragraph with the reasoning "He is not!". Since motivations are insufficient, I've reinstated the addition as "ruled in a dictatorship", which has a nice flow, avoids a too stringent label, and is extremelly precise on what sources are reporting. Cinemaandpolitics (talk) 13:18, 21 December 2024 (UTC)

The label "dictator" is sufficiently sourced and described in the article body. It belongs in the lead without euphemism. Yue🌙 06:23, 22 December 2024 (UTC)
Agreed. My formulation is not an euphemism though, I have kept the more general term "politician" and described more precisely that he "ruled Syria as a dictator". Sounds good enough for me. Cinemaandpolitics (talk) 16:19, 22 December 2024 (UTC)
which has been removed by @Setarip who has asked editors to refer to this talk page discussion. Could @Setarip please clarify? Theofunny (talk) 14:43, 26 December 2024 (UTC)
It is just an undiscussed removal of a well sourced extremelly relevant addition. It was restored in the first sentence dictator form, which I find equivalent to the one I've used. Both are good, the only thing that it is unacceptable is the dictatorship erasure from first paragraph. Cinemaandpolitics (talk) 17:33, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Bashar_al-Assad#Bashar_the_dictator_in_the_first_sentence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Bashar_al-Assad#The_word_%22dictator%22_in_the_lead Setarip (talk) 14:50, 26 December 2024 (UTC)

Pronunciation

Why is the pronunciation bə-SHAR AL-ə-SAHD which puts the stress incorrectly on the final syllable depicted in the opening note of this article? The stress should be on the "AH" part per the Arabic pronunciation, approximating the American English pronunciation of "Acid". Colipon+(Talk) 01:21, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Source this please. 2600:100C:A21D:971A:3DFA:A9B2:FCD8:A60 (talk) 06:19, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

International support

If you are gonna add a sub-head 'Far-right' you might as well add one called 'Far-left' since several radical left leaders and organizations have supported him. Don't show your biasm this clearly. At least pretend to be objective once in a while. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:A212:A583:8C80:A927:9308:5AB4:CC1B (talk) 10:14, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

Section title renamed

We should renamed the section of "Exile in Russia" -> "Downfall and Exile" or "Downfall and Exile in Russia" (or any other name) because the section talking about Assad's final month(s) and eventually exile to Russia. Right now, I'm going to change the second to the latter to somewhat make sense. But If someone had reverted (or make a better section title), I want to know in good faith why. SpartanMazda (talk) 09:21, 24 December 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 December 2024

This part: On 23 December 2024, it was reported that Asma al-Assad had filed for divorce after being dissatisfied with life in Moscow.[447] However, the reports were denied by the Russian government.[448] should either be removed or reedited with sources refilled. 2003:100:3700:8C00:C49B:48AA:5305:49BF (talk) 02:37, 26 December 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: Do you have any sources? Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 02:55, 26 December 2024 (UTC)
@Ivebeenhacked: Have you read what I wrote in the first place? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:100:3700:8c00:c49b:48aa:5305:49bf (talk) 03:27, 26 December 2024 (UTC)
I misread. I've fixed the citations. Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 04:18, 26 December 2024 (UTC)

The Giraffe Name

Syrian people used to call him "Giraffe" in reference to his long nick. This name is widely known and used.


reference https://www.irishtimes.com/podcasts/in-the-news/lara-marlowe-on-meeting-bashar-al-assad-he-was-comical-looking-they-called-him-the-giraffe/ Niafandi (talk) 04:14, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Supposed poisoning attempt

I reverted this weakly sourced claim of Assad being poisoned. Newsweek as a source has problems, but for the purposes of this talk page, its analysis that the General SVR Telegram channel run by former and current members of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service has earlier published strong claims that failed to be confirmed does look credible, i.e. there's little reason to take the poisoning claim seriously. The only possibly newsworthy part of this so far is that a lot of newspapers have broadcast the meme further, including British tabloids; this might be interesting for the topics of misinformation or disinformation, if a WP:RS considered it significant enough as mis/disinformation. As a WP:BLP, stronger sources are needed before publishing a claim like this.

Since I've done my 1RR on this, others will have to do other reverts if the poisoning claim is added again prior to consensus. Boud (talk) 02:24, 3 January 2025 (UTC)

TODO: There's still As of January 2, 2025, Assad may have been poisoned while in Russia. [15] in the lead in in the version 04:33, 3 January 2025 with the WP:NEWSWEEK generally unreliable source as bare URL and non-dmy date. Boud (talk) 06:09, 3 January 2025 (UTC)
And it's in the section Assassination attempts: In 2025, it was reported that Assad was poisoned in Moscow, Russia.[445] also in in the version 04:33, 3 January 2025 per The Economic Times per the General SVR Telegram Russian spies/ex-spies. Boud (talk) 06:20, 3 January 2025 (UTC)
No arguments in favour of reporting the rumour in Wikipedia were presented, so I removed the two sentences propagating the rumour. Boud (talk) 17:10, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
@BasselHarfouch, Bri, Richie1509, Geraldshields11, and Nikkimaria: Per WP:SNOPES, Snopes is certified by the International Fact-Checking Network, and is considered generally reliable, and Alex Kasprak says on Snopes: Claims originating from General SVR have been credulously promoted by The Sun and other tabloids numerous times since 2022, despite the account's self-evidently dubious track record. ... The only "evidence" for any of these claims — then and now — was General SVR. ... Jade McGlynn, a researcher on Russian propaganda and media, told Business Insider in January 2023 that the account's propaganda successfully infiltrates Western media because of its outlandish or oversimplified claims. Aric Toler, an open-source investigator who reports on Russian disinformation, has told his followers to discard anything the account claims. The rumour itself is not WP:NOTABLE, because it's from a source with a reputation for disinformation.
After all, Vladimir Putin's death on 26 October 2023 per the same source was somewhat exaggerated, even though he "may have died" on 26 Oct 2023 and "it was reported that he allegedly died" on 26 Oct 2023. Boud (talk) 17:30, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

Torturer category

Would the torturer category be appropriate here? 2600:100C:A21D:971A:3DFA:A9B2:FCD8:A60 (talk) 06:01, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 June 2025

Brazil has revoked Bashar Al-Assad's award:

https://www.metropoles.com/brasil/comissao-da-camara-revoga-medalha-dada-por-lula-a-assad-em-2010 https://veja.abril.com.br/mundo/comissao-da-camara-revoga-honraria-concedida-por-lula-a-assad-ditador-deposto-na-siria/ SandWafer (talk) 16:05, 17 June 2025 (UTC)

 Done Skitash (talk) 16:51, 17 June 2025 (UTC)

Portrait?

What happened to the previous infobox portrait? Based on wiki guidelines, I thought it was good but it was changed. In my opinion, the previous portrait should be kept as it was higher resolution and more recent. AsaQuathern (talk) 17:37, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

I was literally about to ask the same thing. That portrait was from more than 20 years ago and it’s of poor quality. Instead of using the “official” portrait from 2004, why not use the 2024 picture we had been using? I’m going to ping @Goofywikiman over here since he’s the one who changed the portrait (without leaving an edit summary). Maybe he can explain why the portrait was changed. Hurricane Clyde 🌀my talk page! 17:56, 31 January 2025 (UTC)
If they don't respond, I say we should undo it AsaQuathern (talk) 18:25, 31 January 2025 (UTC)
I made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgement, and I don’t expect to be forgiven. I’m simply here to apologize. I want to apologize to the internet. Like I said I made a huge mistake. I don’t expect to be forgiven, I’m just here to apologize. I'm ashamed of myself. I’m disappointed in myself. And I promise to be better. I will be better. Also I feel like he's more recognizable with the mustache Goofywikiman (talk) 18:37, 31 January 2025 (UTC)
@Goofywikiman, we actually have a policy called ”assume good faith”, and I do believe that it was an honest mistake that you made in good faith, you thought your image was better. It happens. I used to make those kinds of mistakes too, and sometimes I still make those mistakes and I’ve been editing for over a year (part of the time as an IP). Hurricane Clyde 🌀my talk page! 22:02, 31 January 2025 (UTC)
Don't be too hard on yourself! After all, Wikipedia also has a policy to be bold (Wikipedia:Be bold) that's what makes it constantly improve! Next time, when you are being bold, all you have to do is add what you changed to the edit summary and all will be well. Have a fun time editing! AsaQuathern (talk) 01:38, 1 February 2025 (UTC)

Torturer category

Would the torturer category be appropriate here? 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:6901:955F:BCDB:BD3A (talk) 02:48, 14 February 2025 (UTC)

Yes, if reliable sources describe him as such and this is included in the article body, per WP:CATV. Yue💌 06:28, 14 February 2025 (UTC)
Here’s several sources that describe torture under his regime.
https://apnews.com/article/syria-prisons-torture-assad-missing-ad4c676858c8016ea5fd4f7a4946353e
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1159466
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4784vn4jdo.amp
https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/16/syria-stories-behind-photos-killed-detainees 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:991A:25A6:E31F:60D3 (talk) 23:53, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

Tulsi in "Right-Wing" International Support

At the time that Tulsi Gabbard visited Syria, she was considered to be on the progressive end of the Democratic Party. Her base of support in her later presidential campaign was mostly derived from left-wing anti-imperialist activism. It seems more sensible to categorize her under Left-Wing international support than Right-Wing. Catjerine (talk) 18:08, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request

Please add the category Torturers here as his regime was proven to torture. 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:991A:25A6:E31F:60D3 (talk) 23:55, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

 Not done: According to the page's protection level you should be able to edit the page yourself. If you seem to be unable to, please reopen the request with further details. But also, this is a potentially controversial addition and should likely be discussed here first. PianoDan (talk) 00:17, 25 February 2025 (UTC)

@PianoDan. The page is under the sliverlock. IP users cannot edit the page. However, this is a controversial addition. Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 00:25, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
That's weird - it was showing up as red on the "Edit Requests" list, and there's no protection template on this page. PianoDan (talk) 15:33, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
There’s discussions here about it please reply to them. 2600:100C:A20D:BB75:580C:D6BF:623D:21B0 (talk) 01:59, 26 February 2025 (UTC)

Is this article neutral?

The article seems to be focused on a more anti-Bashir view. While yes, Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, and should therefore provide information on the topic - in this case al-Assad. I notice that this article seems to be heavily dominated by an anti-Assad view.

I just think that the article may be able to be written a bit more neutral. That's all... 2A00:23C6:9618:DF01:8CD0:D01D:4FC3:8B8B (talk) 21:36, 27 March 2025 (UTC)

I understand your point, but how would you propose this article be written more neutrally? KeysofDreams (talk) 02:54, 11 May 2025 (UTC)

Mass murderer category

Would the mass murderer category be appropriate here? 2600:382:2400:1702:9807:FD31:F502:E2F6 (talk) 11:15, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

User:Augmented Seventh 2600:382:2400:1702:9807:FD31:F502:E2F6 (talk) 11:16, 6 June 2025 (UTC)
The answer to this question is always yes, IF the addition fulfills WP:CATV. Yue🌙 20:32, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

Drug trafficker category

His regime was responsible for production of the stimulant Captagon BUT his brother Maher al-Assad was in charge of production. Does the drug trafficker category still apply? 2600:387:F:6C12:0:0:0:6 (talk) 18:08, 26 June 2025 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

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Official portrait

Hello everybody, maybe instead of photo that in infobox now we put his official portrait?

This one Algirr (talk) 20:45, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

File:Bashar al-Assad.png here Algirr (talk) 20:45, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
I don't see the need for changing the current image. Is there something wrong with the current one? Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 00:07, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
Not really, i just thought that official portrait for propaganda would be better Algirr (talk) 00:14, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
I hear you, but I don't think we should change the current image. I just don't see the need to. Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 00:36, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
well ok Algirr (talk) 00:57, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
I disagree that a lower quality photograph from over two decades ago (2004) is a good replacement for a high quality photograph taken in 2018. Should Wikipedia be prioritising state propaganda, the purpose of which in this case is to have an idealised depiction of a certain person? Yue🌙 04:19, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
I just said my opinion. In my opinion, that photo looks better Algirr (talk) 04:28, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

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Dictator

@Cinemaandpolitics and HurricaneEdgar: I don't see a consensus for inclusion of this MOS:LABEL violation at Talk:Bashar al-Assad/Archive 3#dictator, the addition of the label has been rejected twice previously, Talk:Bashar al-Assad/Archive 2#The word "dictator" in the lead and Talk:Bashar al-Assad/Archive 2#Bashar the dictator in the first sentence. As such we are going to need a broader consensus, if anyone wants this as an unattributed wikivoiced addition to the lede sentence at this WP:BLP. I will be reverting this undiscussed change/addition which goes against previous consensus.

Notifying previous participants @Yue, Setarip, NewBorders, Shadowwarrior8, Bobfrombrockley, FaChol, GhostOfNoMan, and Mhaot:

I would note though that we already state as much in the later in the lede and in the body (how things should be done without violating BLP/LABEL). And it should be mentioned that the descriptive is not used by most WP:3PARTY encyclopedic sources, so even though may have been a 'dictator', it is better to stick to MOS:LABEL and not add this as a wikivoiced descriptive in the lede sentence itself. I will be explicating those sources in my next reply. Gotitbro (talk) 10:48, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

Encyclopedic lede sentences and descriptives [translated where not in en].
Encyclopedia Britannica [1]:

Bashar al-Assad (born September 11, 1965, Damascus, Syria) is a Syrian dynast who succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, as president of Syria in 2000 and served until 2024, when he was toppled after 13 years of civil war.

Encyclopedia Universalis [2]:

President of the Syrian Arab Republic from 2000 to 2024.

Brockhaus Enzyklopädie [3]:

Bashar Hafiz al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad, Syrian politician and president 2000–2024, born 11.9.1965 in Damascus.

Great Norwegian Encyclopedia [4]:

Bashar al-Assad was Syria's president from 2000 to 2024 when his regime was overthrown by a coalition of several rebel groups.

Nationalencyklopedin [Swedish National Encyclopedia] [5]:

Al-Assad, Bashar (born September 11, 1965) is a Syrian politician and military officer, president from 2000 to 24.

Den Store Danske Encyklopædi [The Great Danish Encyclopedia] [6]:

Bashar al-Assad was Syria's president from 2000 to 2024, when his rule fell.

Enciclopedia Italiana [7]:

al-ASAD, Baššār. Syrian politician, born in Damascus on September 11, 1965.

Treccani [8]:

Syrian politician (b. Damascus 1965).

Sapere Encyclopedia [9]:

Syrian politician (Damascus 1965).

Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana [Great Catalan Encyclopedia] [10]:

Bashar al-Assad (Damascus, September 11, 1965). Syrian politician and military officer.

Croatian Encyclopedia [11]:

Assad, Bashar al-, Syrian politician (Damascus, 11 September 1965).

Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija [12]:

al Assad Bashar 11.09.1965 Damascus, Syrian statesman.

Great Polish Scientific Publishers Encyclopedia [13]:

Al-Assad,Bashar, born 11 September 1965, son of Hafiz, Syrian politician, doctor by education; since 2000 president of Syria; took office after the death of his father, had not previously held any official positions; opponent of US influence, policy of rapprochement with Russia; 2005 withdrew Syrian troops from Lebanon; 2006 resumed diplomatic relations with Israel; 2011 ordered the suppression of social protests, which led to an escalation of the conflict (civil war); 2014 elected president in the first multi-party elections since 1963 (boycotted by the opposition).

Gotitbro (talk) 10:56, 23 September 2025 (UTC)
@Gotitbro: I agree that the use of the word 'dictator' should be discussed in greater depth. Since multiple sources describe him as a dictator, I suggest phrasing it as 'some observers have referred to him as a dictator' or using more neutral language. Some figures, such as Mao Zedong, are not referred to in the same way, which shows the problem of how the term 'dictator' has been used inconsistently for many years, starting from when leaders like Suharto were referred to as dictators. HurricaneEdgar 11:01, 23 September 2025 (UTC)
@HurricaneEdgar: MOS:LABEL is pretty clear that such descriptives should simply not be added without attribution. The Suharto example you use was only added recently [14] without discussion and I will indeed be reverting that. All such labels need prior consensus.
You can also compare this with MOS:TERRORIST label, for e.g. we don't label Osama bin Laden a terrorist and I needn't list sources for that but labelling guidelines would outright trump any such usage.
Coming to our case, I oppose adding this in the lede sentence or lede para from the review of sources above. Though as I note we already state as much in the third and fourth paras [starting with 'Assad's regime was a highly personalist dictatorship'] about his truly despicable rule that shows more than any singular label could. But I wouldn't oppose mentions of a dictator in any those paras. Gotitbro (talk) 15:27, 23 September 2025 (UTC)
I think "dictator" should be mentioned in the lead, but not in the first sentence. But yes, I agree it’s quite confusing and I don’t pretend to have the answer to this question. This term is applied to Adolf Hitler in the first phrase, but not Mao Zedong or Joseph Stalin. Maybe one day we can reach a broader consensus on Wikipedia. FaChol (talk) 19:21, 23 September 2025 (UTC)
a consensus if the term "dictator" should be applied on articles about all leaders considered to be dictators. FaChol (talk) 19:22, 23 September 2025 (UTC)
I agree. Though if MOS:LABEL as a guideline is to be strictly followed, which I believe we should, even Hitler wouldn't be described as such (I remember when that used to be the case). Though I also realize that Hitler is the quintessential example of the term and all the encyclopedic sources I list above on the corollary would list him as such. Gotitbro (talk) 22:18, 23 September 2025 (UTC)
@Gotitbro: I think this issue should be raised in WP:VILLAGEPUMP, as it has been a problem for many years. This likely started when Ferdinand Marcos was labeled as a dictator, but some editors keep reverting the changes, saying that it is whitewashing. (I also keep reverting the edits about the "dictator" label.) HurricaneEdgar 10:45, 24 September 2025 (UTC)
Of the six dictators I looked up, all very comparable to Assad, the word was in the first sentence for five: [[Augusto Pinochet}}, Ioannis Metaxas, Benito Mussolini, Jorge Rafael Videla, Francisco Franco. The one exception was Saddam Hussein. It seems completely uncontroversial to describe him as a dictator in the lead and indeed first sentence. Does any source say that he was not a dictator?
I notice there’s an elegant solution with Idi Amin - not in the first sentence but more cautiously in second (“was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern world history.”). BobFromBrockley (talk) 05:09, 24 September 2025 (UTC)
Yes, most encyclopedic sources as listed above don't. The case for the others you list is exactly the opposite as the same encyclopedic sources do call them that (though not sure about Videla) but I wouldn't really bother with what our own articles have to say about other deceased authoritarian rulers/dictators since this is a BLP, we should closely follow our MOS guidelines and the weight of sources as sampled above for now tells me that we shouldn't be placing such labels in the lede sentence/para or wikivoicing them here in other ways. But other paras in the lede for this should be perfectly fine. Gotitbro (talk) 06:25, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

Infobox image

Consensus is for Option 1. GoldRomean (talk) 00:55, 11 September 2025 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Which image is most suitable to be the infobox image?

If needed, here are the file names for the files nominated:
1 - File:Bashar al-Assad (2018-05-17) 02 (cropped).jpg
2 - File:Bashar al-Assad in May 2024.png

Freedoxm (talk · contribs) 19:40, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

  • 1
    1
  • 2
    2

Discussion

I honestly don't understand why so many editors are keen to change images constantly without good reason. May you state your reasoning? Hacked (Talk|Contribs) 19:55, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
It was because the second image was added without consensus. Freedoxm (talk · contribs) 19:58, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
Image 1, it's closer to his face and higher res. DervotNum4 (talk) 20:08, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
Of these two options, I would choose the first image because it is clearer and on preview his face will not be cropped from above (as it will be with second image), but in my opinion there are better alternatives on Wikimedia Algirr (talk) 20:24, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
Either is easily acceptable, but if I had to pick I think the first one is slightly better, because the image quality is a bit better. Loki (talk) 05:44, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
Personally, I'd choose Option 1. It doesn't appear to be as blurry as the second option, and the photo itself seems to be more generally high-quality. Caltine (talk) 08:48, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
Made a mistake whilst adding my reply. Sorry about that! Caltine (talk) 08:49, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Can someone please hyperlink Hafez al-Assad in the first sentence of the first section??? 2804:388:4100:C2CA:1:0:CD97:7A5E (talk) 17:48, 11 October 2025 (UTC)

 Done. A. Randomdude0000 (talk) 18:03, 11 October 2025 (UTC)

profession

Can someone please replace "doctor" (which is a title, not an occupation or profession) with "physician" (correct occupation i.d. for someone with an MD). This error appears in several locations. 2001:569:502B:AF00:F9E6:1D4F:7884:9A9B (talk) 17:59, 16 October 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 20 October 2025


Summary of edit: Adding recent OCCRP ranking of Bashar al-Assad as the most corrupt person in 2024.

Rationale: This information has been reported by reliable sources including [15]. It is relevant to the “Corruption allegations” section and is properly sourced. 

Asarutheensahulameed (talk) 05:22, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
 Not done: If you would like something to be added to the article, please provide the exact text of your proposed addition. Day Creature (talk) 16:45, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
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