Woodrow Wilson "scholars" of the Middle East

I don't know who this guy is but look at this:  "His conservative and more assertive brother, Basil al-Assad, who was supposed to succeed his father, Hafez Al Assad, was assassinated before his father's death".  As is well-known, Basil died in a car accident on the way to the airport.  When there is a factual mistake in the first opening paragraph, how are you expected to proceed in reading?  (thanks Ansar)