Syria’s al-Sharaa caught scrolling Instagram as Erdogan spoke to UN
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived at the UN General Assembly with war, reconstruction and diplomacy on his agenda. But while Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan was addressing world leaders, a viral clip appeared to catch the Syrian leader doing something considerably more ordinary: scrolling through Instagram Reels.
The footage, which spread rapidly across social media on Tuesday, shows al-Sharaa looking down at his phone and moving through what appears to be Instagram’s short-video feed. Some reports say he was also sharing Reels, although the footage itself does not establish who he was messaging or what he was watching.
The timing made the clip particularly irresistible online. Al-Sharaa was sitting inside the General Assembly hall during Erdogan’s speech, ahead of his appearance during this year’s UN gathering.
Syrian President Jolani appears to be caught scrolling Instagram during the UN General Assembly. pic.twitter.com/XzV5uKTH9K
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 23, 2026
Al-Sharaa made history in 2025, becoming the first Syrian president in almost six decades to address the General Assembly after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. His return to New York this week therefore marks his second UNGA appearance, although his 2026 address was his first at this year’s session.
Read more: US quietly brokers deal to remove nuclear material from Syria
What he told the UN
Hours after the viral clip, al-Sharaa was discussing some of the Middle East’s hardest diplomatic questions.
At an Atlantic Council event in New York, he said Syrian-Israeli negotiations had at one stage reached «almost 90%» agreement, while insisting that Israel should withdraw to positions associated with the 1974 disengagement arrangement before longer-term peace could be discussed.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 22, 2026
When I visited Trump at the White House, when he said the Golan Heights belongs to Israel, I made the joke, «Why don’t you give New Jersey to the Israelis? You don’t own the Golan Heights to give, but you own New Jersey.»
I believe New Jersey… pic.twitter.com/eJEaN6eqYv
He also joked that when Donald Trump raised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, he had suggested the US president give Israel New Jersey instead — because, unlike the Golan, it was American territory.
Read more: Bomb blasts hit Damascus during Macron’s landmark Syria visit
That contrast may explain why a few seconds of phone footage travelled so quickly: one moment al-Sharaa is negotiating Syria’s return to international diplomacy, the next he appears to be doing what millions of people do when a meeting runs long — checking Reels.
