(OK! Magazine)

A number of outlets reporting that Angelina Jolie is in the process of adopting a baby from Syria focus on how it will impact her relationship with Brad Pitt… but don’t adequately cover the nature of a potential adoption itself.

The gossip press is consumed with the notion Jolie has fulfilled her desire for a seventh child, putting her at odds with a reluctant Pitt. The British Sun claims Jolie “is planning to add to her six children with a Syrian baby” and cites “U.S. reports” that the actress “has filed paperwork in her name only.” Meanwhile, OK! magazine splashed its cover with an “Angie’s Adopting… Without Brad!” announcement, later quoting an “insider” as saying Jolie “is determined to complete her rainbow family” despite Pitt’s protests.

Now blogs are running with the Syrian story as a way to keep Brangelina drama in the headlines. But in their rush to drive a wedge between the two, Gossip Cop suspects the tabs sped up the adoption claim without the facts.

OK! reports Jolie met the unnamed girl she wants to bring into her family during a U.N. Refugee Agency trip in October. Moved by the child’s account of fleeing extremists, Jolie made the decision to adopt, a “friend” explains to the mag, which cites a British newspaper “source” as saying the paperwork “has gone through.”

There are two issues here.

First of all, during her recent visit Jolie met with refugees who had fled to Syria – not Syrians. So it’s more than likely that if she adopts a girl she met during the United Nations trip, she is not Syrian.

Second, if the girl is Syrian, she’d be exceptionally difficult for Jolie to adopt. Gossip Cop spoke with the Syrian embassy and confirmed that “securing custody of Syrian orphans for immigration is extremely difficult as adoption is essentially illegal in Syria.” Laws concerning personal status matters are handled by religious authorities in that country, and a Muslim child would not be possible to adopt.

Since OK! and others mostly focus on how Jolie’s “single-minded mission has caused a major rift” with Pitt, of course, they ignore whether the process might cause a major rift with the law.

What bothers Gossip Cop about these stories is that the tabs act as though celebrities are constrained only by a small set of personal relationships. If Jolie ends up adopting this girl, it will somehow be construed as a sign of trouble with Pitt. If she doesn’t, then it’ll be reported as Pitt putting down his foot.

Either way the magazines succeed and sell.

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