Amid a major reshuffle in his Cabinet, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan kept key names under the Presidency in their posts. Among them was Fahrettin Altun, head of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications.
Altun has been reappointed to his post, the Official Gazette announced early Friday. Altun thanked President Erdoğan on Twitter, emphasizing unity and cooperation. "I would like to express my gratitude to our President, (Mr.) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who once again entrusted the duty of Communications Director to me, for his approval In line with the vision of our President, we will work together for our goals for the Century of Türkiye, and we will continue our struggle for truth. May Allah always keep our unity and solidarity," Altun said.
Altun, 47, was first appointed by Erdoğan as the Presidency's director of communications on July 25, 2018. Engaged in research in the fields of political communication, media and communication sociology, political sociology and cultural studies, Altun received his Ph.D. in media philosophies.
He is the first head of the directorate, which was founded in 2018. The directorate serves as a central office for what it describes as "empowering the Türkiye brand." It works to provide a new narrative for the Presidency against "perception management" and a campaign of disinformation targeting everyone from the president himself to any citizen, worsened by the prevalence of fake news through social media.