Twitter pledges to cooperate with Türkiye, fight disinformation
A screen grab from the teleconference meeting between Türkiye's Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ömer Fatih Sayan, John Hughes, global head of Geopolitical and Economic Public Policy Strategy, and Ronan Costello, Europe lead for Twitter's Global Government Affairs team, Feb. 8, 2023. (AA Photo)


Twitter executives pledged to cooperate with Turkish authorities and fight disinformation, false reports, fake aid campaigns, fake accounts and more, in the aftermath of two deadly earthquakes that claimed the lives of at least 9,000 people.

Türkiye's Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ömer Fatih Sayan held a videoconference meeting with two Twitter officials-John Hughes, global head of Geopolitical and Economic Public Policy Strategy, and Ronan Costello, Europe lead for Twitter's Global Government Affairs team.

During the meeting, the minister pointed to Twitter's duty to curb disinformation, which could cause panic and chaos in society, sources said.

Active cooperation in order to prevent disinformation on social media was also discussed in the meeting, along with Twitter's legal obligations under Turkish law.

The meeting came two days after Communications Director Fahrettin Altun called on the social media platform to show a "responsible attitude" in the wake of deadly earthquakes that hit the country's southern region on Monday.