Remembering Dr Maaz

This Facebook post, which was published on 28 April 2016, is The Syria Campaign’s best performing post ever, with a reach of around 10 million people. Written as a first-hand account by Dr Hatem, the director of the Children’s Hospital in Aleppo, it recounted an airstrike on the city’s Al Quds hospital that killed 27 medical staff including Dr Maaz, the city’s last remaining paediatrician.

In his message, Dr Hatem remembers Dr Maaz as “the loveliest doctor in our hospital” who would work a day shift at the Children’s Hospital and then go to Al Quds at night to assist with emergencies there. Dr Hatem goes on to discuss the dangers of doing medical work in Aleppo where hospitals are frequently targeted by Russia and the Syrian regime. Despite knowing the risks, Dr Hatem wrote that: “Dr Maaz stayed in Aleppo, the most dangerous city in the world, because of his devotion to his patients.”

One reason why the post performed so well was that the death of Dr Maaz was already being widely spoken about on social media given his important role in helping the children of Aleppo. We stayed late to write the post and publish it as Dr Maaz’s name was going viral, ensuring that it reached the biggest possible audience. Our post was able to contribute to the collective mourning by being one of the first to share that photo of Dr Maaz and by sharing Dr Hatem’s moving words about his friend and colleague. We also published a longer entry on our website featuring a statement from the Independent Doctors’ Association and an expanded interview with Dr Hatem. The Facebook post was picked up by the Independent and the Metro and was shared by a BBC journalist.

The image used in the post contributed immensely to how far it travelled. The picture had not yet been widely shared, though many people were mourning Dr Maaz online. The photo shows his face clearly, looking over an infant patient with both concern and empathy. It said so much about who Dr Maaz was and what his loss meant for Aleppo.

Facebook has since changed its algorithm, which determines where in people’s timelines posts are displayed. Since the change, posts from friends are prioritised above posts from groups and so it is unlikely that Dr Maaz’s post would have got so much traction if it was posted today.