The Syrian Observer is dedicated primarily to translating into English news content produced by Syria's official press, opposition groups, activists, and civil society. In addition to translated content, the website publishes original features, op-eds, interviews, and blog posts. It also aims at building an extensive "Who is Who" database of the main actors of the Syrian political and civil societ
y scenes. The objective of the Syrian Observer is to provide a better understanding of Syria, to introduce its civil society, popular uprising, and nascent political activity to the outside world, to shed light on how the different parties in the conflict shape their discourse, and to contribute to the advancement of democratic values. The target audience of the website includes journalists, academics, diplomats, think tanks, and all individuals and institutions operating with, and interested in, Syria. Its editor-in-chief is Wael Sawah.