Speaking at an event on disinformation held in Istanbul on Friday, Fahrettin Altun, head of the Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications criticized “a bombardment of disinformation by Israel which already massacred thousands of children, women and elderly.”
“They tried to kill the truth but we strongly fought against Israel’s policy of disinformation,” he said. Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu perpetuated a defamation campaign against Ankara, including accusing it of genocide after Ankara raised its voice against its atrocities in the Gaza Strip.
The Presidency's Directorate of Communications has been at the forefront on debunking fake news on social media as the conflict intensified between Israel and Palestinians. The directorate regularly published bulletins to counter disinformation.
He emphasized that they were fighting against the flood of disinformation so that the voice of truth would not be silenced and hope would remain alive for an end to Israel’s atrocities. “We see hope is alive in protests of students against Israel at universities in the West, in recognition of Palestinian state by Western countries,” he said.
Altun said disinformation was a global problem that must be fought so that democracy can be protected. “In a media and political order dominated by disinformation, there is discrimination and hate speech,” he said.
