PKK-HDP disinformation on Cizre curfew at its finest


Following the curfew imposed in Cizre on Sep. 4 to prevent civilian casualties amid operations against terrorists in the province, which put pressure on the PKK and caused the terrorist organization to cry out for help on TV, the PKK and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) supporters on social media are posting deceptive photos to mislead the public and create a false image.One of the most striking images posted on Twitter in order to outrage the people and lead them to turn their backs against the government is the dead body of a 2-year-old in a freezer. The Twitter post says: "A little child killed in Cizre kept in a freezer. The Turkish State doesn't let the baby be buried." However, the story is far from reality. The truth is that the baby was killed a long time ago in an Israeli attack in the southern Gaza strip.Another image features a heavily wounded young boy who is probably about to die, laid on a table with his mother hugging him in despair. The caption reads: "7-year-old Baran Çağlı lost his life after being shot by soldiers and police in Cizre." Even though the image has been re-tweeted many times, it is not true. The photo was used in a 2007 article covering the war in Iraq. False images on social media were not limited to these two examples. A photo of a small child (as shown in the photo above) hugging his dead father covered in blood on the sidewalk was tweeted with the description: "I ask those who ask: 'Why do these children join the PKK,' Why wouldn't they?" The message on social media falls into the disinformation category. The actual story presents a man killed due to a blood feud in the Tarsus district of Mersin.Efforts to degrade the army and police working meticulously in the region by distributing false images did not stop there. Another image shows a couple of snipers on a minaret balcony and a helicopter in the background. The images were tweeted as if the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) placed snipers on a minaret balcony with the goal of hindering the imam from reciting the call to prayer. The truth behind the story is completely different. The photo was taken during a local election rally for President Erdoğan, then-prime minister, in Van.As the PKK feels more trapped day by day due to the government's ongoing operations in the region, a militant named Mehmet Tunç cried on a live TV program last Tuesday. Addressing the HDP, Tunç said: "Artillery, mortars and bombs dropped by the TSK tighten the circle. Please save Cizre." Continuous disinformation on social media with respect to the Cizre curfew and the confession of a PKK member live on TV show the tough spot the PKK is in.