Hassan Akkad’s floating, shaved head against absurd green-screen backgrounds has become an unlikely icon in the last few months on Syrian social media.
In a series of recent Instagram videos, Akkad called out Mousa al-Omar, a famous media personality who is in Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s inner circle. Like many wealthy and prominent public figures, Omar had pledged commitments in several reconstruction campaigns that launched across the country after the fall of the Assad regime. And, like many wealthy and prominent public figures, he hadn’t fully paid them. Akkad was particularly insistent in pointing to the $10,000 that Omar promised the city of Homs and had yet to deliver.
Omar grew tired of Akkad’s trolling and blocked him. Akkad responded by traveling to Homs and calling on Omar directly through a megaphone from his car window as he drove around the city’s destroyed neighborhoods. Bystanders on the streets and balconies held up their phones, recording the performance. Shortly after, Omar posted a video announcing development projects totaling $40,000 that he will support in Homs. He insisted that it was not in response to the “pressure of the online blackmailing campaign.”
