Syrian Arab News Agency
Syria is ranked the third most repressive country in the world in terms of press freedom by the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the 4th most repressive by Reporters Without Borders. Propaganda has been used by the Syrian government since the beginning of the conflict. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the official government news agency, often refers to the FSA and ISIS as "armed gangs" or "terrorists"—while other media sources maintain that only part of the opposition are 'extremists'. President Assad has characterized the opposition as armed terrorist groups with Islamist "takfiri" extremist motives, portraying himself as the last guarantee for a secular government form. Former employees have said that Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)'s role was to "fabricate, make deceptions and cover up for Bashar al-Assad's crimes" and that television interviews sometimes use government supporters 'disguised as locals' who stand near sites of destruction and claim that they were caused by rebel fighters.