In the aftermath of the Feb. 6 disaster, the chanted slogan calling on the government to resign in football tribunes occupied social media platforms. This trend started right after the devastating quakes, there were rumors going around that the government failed to inadequate respond to the earthquake. However, I would like to add some clarity to these statements by highlighting the crucial distinction between claims that the government "deliberately" did nothing, and that there was a lack of capacity to act promptly.
First of all, I must say calling the government to resign is going a bit too far. Especially now that many people have lost their families and millions have been left homeless, government support is needed the most.
However, I'll not discuss whether the government failed or succeeded in dealing with the aftermath of the quake. Rather, what concerns me is the lack of political tact and the misinformation spread by those who hold political ransom even in a deplorable situation such as this. I consider the latter to be even more damaging because insufficient information makes communication, and thus coordination processes, more difficult, especially in times of crisis. The focus will therefore be on political opportunism and the effects of false narratives used after the earthquake.
Even in such a difficult period, where corpses and pain are still fresh, populism has resurfaced in the form of heated political polemics. Since the beginning of the quake, the government has been subject to many accusations, and social media platforms are, to this date, dominated by false and defamatory news feeds, aiming to provoke people, and force the government to step down. This is nothing but political insensitivity, especially at this time when we need unity and solidarity more than ever, some political opportunists are clouding people's minds for their political benefits. Accordingly, when carefully analyzing most of the content circulating the internet regarding government post-earthquake responses, it is based on logical fallacies and unfounded statements lacking evidence.
Although, as mentioned earlier, accuracy in crisis management is considered indispensable since it stabilizes and advances coordination. Hence, it is important to identify these logical fallacies and adhere to the truth.
The word "fallacy" stems from the Latin word "fallacia," which literally means “deception,” “deceit” and “fraud.” A fallacy is caused by flawed reasoning and manifests itself in the form of incorrect arguments or claims that appears to be true. Besides, the formation of these claims is often considered a deliberate act intended to deceive people and dispel counterparts by using deceptive language.
Although fallacies are not always easy to spot, even if they lack a base for logical reasoning, they are most often conceived as psychologically persuasive. In this respect, fallacies are delusive as they primarily seek to thrill and arouse the audience's feelings rather than truly enlighten them.
However, since fallacies are used to trick and mislead, they could be better avoided, especially in times of crisis. Because unfounded arguments limit our way of thinking, and let us deviate from our goals, which hinders our ability to effectively manage crisis situations. Regardless of how challenging, it is possible to grow immune to distorted information by cultivating a critical mindset. In doing so, it’s crucial to take distance from divisive statements and rather adhere to positive, people-uniting discourses.
Anyhow, in consideration of the post-earthquake period, many have failed in adopting a critical stance toward unfounded arguments. Rather, as in any crisis, political opportunists have sought to obtain a political advantage by amplifying false beliefs, turning social media and football tribunes into a platform for populist ideas, consequently, casting doubt on state authority and leading many people astray. Having said that, the following section focuses on these misconceptions and examines how they have trapped and diverted many of us from the real problems.
Following the earthquake, videos of people robbing marketplaces went viral on social media. Soon after, baseless accusations surfaced, unjustly blaming Syrians for being looters and thieves. Nonetheless, these false beliefs have made their way into the political sphere, with some politicians and prominent figures becoming involved in anti-Syrian campaigns.
The leader of the Victory Party (ZP), Ümit Özdağ, known for his anti-refugee stance, has initiated a deceitful campaign against Syrians, being the first to spread unfounded rumors. In a reckless and provocative manner, Özdağ took to Twitter, where he has over 2 million followers, and labeled Syrians as thieves and blamed them for the issues in earthquake-affected areas, inciting violence.
Nevertheless, many other key political figures have joined this bandwagon fallacy trend as well, obviously, exploiting natural disasters to look after political ambitions, without thinking about what it might lead to. Disastrously, such rhetoric has bred hatred and enmity toward Syrians as it has provided grounds for prejudice.
To name some examples, according to an internet report on this subject, a Syrian family hesitated to call for assistance out of concern that they would be associated with the looting. In another report published by Reuters, Syrians filed criminal complaints on the grounds that they were beaten and deprived of aid for speaking the Arabic language. Accordingly, it did not go unnoticed that some Syrian youth were even exposed to insults as they have become victims of anti-Syrian-hatred violence. In consideration of all, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that such skewed perceptions have caused more harm than good, because it has not only incited people to commit violations, but it has also steered the aid processes, resulting in disparity in the distribution of help.
Another misinformation dominating social media was that the government "purposely delayed taking action to rescue people from the rubble and that it had been selective in its aiding of some earthquake-affected regions." Yet another claim that could not be substantiated was that the state-managed fundraising activities were not transparent and that the aid did not reach the places it was supposed to reach.
However, this type of fallacious argument has unfairly instilled feelings of rage and powerlessness, turning a large part of the population against the government. Consequently, this has cast doubt on government authority, as it has led to multiple unsupervised fundraising campaigns, inciting individuals and organizations to get one’s own way. With this, the government has been overshadowed by some independent aid and relief organizations, aimed at starting a rivalry to outperform the government. Yet, this has only hindered state capacity, stalled governments’ fundraising efforts, and made coordination even more difficult.
As a result, we’ve seen individuals traveling to the earthquake zones occupying highways, which made it difficult for rescue services to reach these areas. Moreover, while there was an urgent necessity for basic needs such as shelter, water, food and electricity, these false narratives have caused many to stray away from this end, leading to an excessive amount of uncoordinated clothing fundraiser campaigns, resulting in many accumulated garments, ending up along the highways, which never reached the earthquake zones. Although, some political rivals have attempted to take political advantage by scapegoating the government for this incompetence and failure, aiming to win over the hearts and minds of the people.
Similarly, longstanding humanitarian organizations have faced the detrimental impact of political stinginess, often being targeted by defamation campaigns. For instance, as with the 1999 earthquake in Türkiye, the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), one of the country's largest aid organizations, was once more subjected to criticism for allegedly selling tents to certain institutions at inflated prices for profit.
Lacking insight into the intricacies of these situations, it is not my place to delve into the details. Nevertheless, in my opinion, there may be nothing inherently wrong with humanitarian aid organizations selling products, as long as the proceeds are directed toward expanding their capacity to provide assistance. It is crucial to ensure that the ultimate goal of providing aid and relief to those in need is not compromised, and that transparency and accountability are maintained in all humanitarian efforts.
All in all, here we can trace a systematic effort of defamation, damaging people's trust in government entities in order to deprive the government of its raison d'être.
Yet, politicizing crises and exploiting natural disasters for political benefit is not a recent occurrence in Türkiye; rather, it is deeply embedded in the nation’s political culture, particularly utilized by political rivals looking for means to seize power.
However, to date, political greed has never provided sustainable solutions for social problems, nor has it contributed to the development of the country. Adversely, it has only kept us away from reality and led us off target. Thus, it is urgently necessary to break free from the never-ending vicious loop of the political blame game to begin on a new route, one marked by the unity that will eventually lead to the common good, preventing us from taking misleading turns that only serve the interest of a select few.
In doing so, we should consider the consequences of our words, adopt a more peaceful language based on dialogue, embrace political indifferences, and accept that it is more than fine to approach problems from different lenses.
As numerous individuals have expressed, there is a profound sense of mercy and compassion when we come together, and conversely, there is anguish in being apart. With this profound truth in mind, I earnestly hope that we can establish a meaningful connection. By upholding this collective mindset, I am confident that we can not only navigate crisis situations more effectively but also make significant strides in finding sustainable solutions to various societal challenges.
