In late 2016, Bartlett gained controversy over a video that went viral, in which said that Syrians "overwhelmingly support" Bashar al-Assad, as evidenced by the results of the 2014 election. The election was seen as illegitimate by a number of countries and international organizations, while Russia has endorsed Assad's mandate. Further, she has characterized the White Helmets as being part of a Western propaganda campaign, alleging that rescues by that organization are hoaxes whereby they "recycle" the same children in footage of staged rescues, and that "no one in eastern Aleppo has heard of [the White Helmets]". In the same video, Bartlett falsely claimed that the al-Quds Hospital bombing in April 2016, where 55 died, never occurred, saying it was rebel propaganda. Bartlett's claims were amplified by Russian-controlled outlets such as RT, Sputnik News and In The Now. The claims were found to be false by "Channel 4 News" and Snopes. The broader "same girl" internet meme has been categorized as a derivation of the "crisis actor" conspiracy theories.