How UNHCR worker Andrew Harper’s tweet of Syrian refugee boy went viral for the wrong reason

IT WAS a picture that broke hearts around the world. A little boy, carrying a plastic bag, lost in a desert while escaping Syria. But all is not as it seems.

IT WAS a picture that broke hearts around the world.

Taken by a UNHCR worker on the Syrian/Jordanian border, the picture showed a boy carrying a plastic bag looking lost, desperate and seemingly alone in the desert.

And like all amazing pictures it soon swept across the internet, but not all was what it seemed.

As it turns out the boy, named as Marwan to protect his identity, was actually never abandoned or alone — he had simply became temporarily separated from his mother in the rush to cross the Syrian border into Jordan.

So how did this picture end up going viral?

Shortly after posting the picture taken near the Hagallat boarder crossing by Jordan’s UNHCR head Andrew Harper, it was picked up under the hashtag #syria.

CNN anchor Hala Gorani posted the picture, revealing her own heartbreak about the boy’s desperate situation.

UN staff found 4 year-old Marwan crossing desert alone after being separated from family fleeing #Syria. pic.twitter.com/YdCt7gZrcN

Her post gained plenty of sympathy and retweets from across the Twittersphere, who agreed it was indeed heartbreaking.

@HalaGorani @sarahclarkeabc Heartbreaking! What a tough little guy, so awful he had to go through this alone.

“@HalaGorani: UN staff found 4 year-old Marwan crossing desert alone after being separated from family fleeing #Syria pic.twitter.com/oyOsCasHV3

Mr Harper quickly clarified that the boy wasn’t alone for long and wasn’t lost.

Thanks to Jared 4 this shot showing Marwan at the back of this group of @refugees. He is separated - he is not alone. pic.twitter.com/vq2JpxjT8j

Mr Harper said Marwan had temporarily become separated from his family in the chaos of the mass refugee crossing and was soon safely reunited with his mother after being carried across the Jordanian border.

The UNHCR worker went on to explain that in every mass refugee crossing, it’s often small children, the elderly, sick, and pregnant who fall behind the main groups, and that both UNHCR staff and Border Guards looked out for these refugees in particular.

@TheGreatOne2012 could you pls follow so I can DM you. It was never stated that he was alone. News agencies stated that. Pls see my tweets.

Marwan's story is that he was temporarily separated frm his family in d chaos of the mass @refugees x'ing to #Jordan pic.twitter.com/ghmKtoFnYY

Ms Gorani later clarified that the boy had been reunited with his mother and wasn’t lost.

But the CNN journalist’s first tweet ended up being retweeted thousands of times compared to a couple of hundred for Mr Harper’s original post.

Re Marwan pic, UNHCR now clarifying photo appearing to show boy in desert alone. UN reps now say he was briefly separated from larger group.

Children's right campaigner Malala Yousafzai visited the refugee site. Picture: Twitter/Andrew Harper