The prisoner CNN freed from a secret facility in Syria was actually a notorious member of Bashar al-Assad’s forces known for torturing those who refused to pay him off, according to a shocking local fact check.

The channel went viral last week with footage of journalist Clarissa Ward leading the terrified prisoner out of prison, calling it “one of the most extraordinary moments I have ever experienced” in her 20 years of reporting.

But “independent and unbiased” fact-checkers Verify-Sy published a detailed report on Sunday saying the seemingly innocent prisoner was actually Salama Mohammad Salama – a senior lieutenant in Syria’s air force intelligence with a long history of alleged war crimes .

“We subsequently investigated his background and are aware that he may have provided a false identity,” CNN confirmed to The Post. “We are continuing our reporting on this story and beyond.”

The CNN report last week showed Ward and a camera crew, accompanied by a rebel fighter, visiting a former Syrian Air Force intelligence headquarters in Damascus and freeing the man, who was found locked under a blanket in a windowless cell.

He gave his name as Adel Ghurbal and claimed to have been arrested by government authorities three months earlier – and said he had no idea the Assad regime had collapsed.

However, Verify-Sy noted that he “appeared well-groomed and physically healthy, with no visible injuries or signs of torture – an incongruous portrayal of someone who was allegedly held in solitary confinement in the dark for 90 days.”

He didn’t flinch or even blink as he looked at the sky, even though he said he hadn’t seen sunlight in three months.

Verify-Sy then discovered that there was no record of an Adel Ghurbal in the region – leading to his true identity, Salama, the outlet said.

Salama, known as “Abu Hamza,” worked at several security checkpoints in Homs and was involved in theft, extortion and coercing residents to become informants for Assad, residents told fact-checkers.

He also killed civilians during the Syrian civil war in 2014 – and allegedly arrested and tortured young men on false charges, many of whom refused to pay bribes, Verify-Sy reported.

Locals claim he was locked up in prison for less than a month over a dispute with a high-ranking official over the division of extorted money, where he was discovered.

In the CNN report, Salama was freed by the rebel fighters, fed a meal and later taken away by rescue workers.

CNN denies claims that the article is fake.

“No one other than the CNN team knew that day about our plans to visit the prison building mentioned in our report. “The events occurred as they appear in our film,” CNN said.

The embattled news channel was also forced to defend Ward’s work last year when she was accused of staging a report near the Israel-Gaza border that showed her and her crew charging at crowds amid a barrage of rocket attacks.

A doctored version of the live recording – with faked audio from someone directing the action – started making a big splash on social media, with many believing it to be real.