Turkish authorities over the past week detained dozens of social media users spreading disinformation about the response to the Feb. 6 earthquakes while the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications repelled more rumors concerning military operations, survivors, and infrastructural problems in the disaster zone.
"We’re facing an onslaught of disinformation about many issues, as in the water supply matter, spreading on social media," Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu told reporters Saturday from the disaster coordination center in the Hatay province, one of the worst-hit cities by the twin tremors that left nearly 46,000 dead in Türkiye’s southeast.
While confirming that Hatay’s tap water was restored for daily needs, Soylu dispelled claims that the city was "in desperate need of water."
"Such rumors not only obstruct our operations, but they are also blatantly designed to hurt the morale of our personnel on the ground for political motives," Soylu said.
According to the minister, Türkiye’s Anti-Cybercrime Presidency has detected 1,090 social media users circulating rumors and prosecutors probed 613 of these to detain 151 people.
"About 29 of these were arrested following investigations," Soylu informed, assuring that "All state institutions continue monitoring and following up with all efforts to abuse or provoke through disinformation our citizens on social media."
Soylu further reiterated that no child kidnappings or "organ mafias" being active in the disaster zone have been recorded.
TSK
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Communications too on Sunday sought to counter another horde of similar allegations regarding the disaster zone in its weekly bulletin compiled to fight disinformation in both visual and social media.
The directorate debunked a widespread claim about Turkish troops "bombing civilians in Syria and Iraq the day after the earthquake instead of rescuing victims."
Referring to the rocket attack the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, looking to exploit Türkiye’s vulnerability in the wake of the disaster, launched from Tell Rifat to the Öncüpınar border gate in the southern Kilis province, the directorate said the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) responded to the attacks from northern Iraq and Syria while trying to help earthquake survivors.
"The Turkish Armed Forces, the world’s most sensitive army when it comes to civilians, hit terrorist targets, not civilians," it assured.
‘Gas poisoning’
The directorate dismissed another rumor: "A number of citizens dying of carbon monoxide poisoning from a heating stove while staying in a greenhouse due to a shortage of tents in Hatay."
"Hatay Governorate has investigated the claim, and no such report was found in the records of police, gendarmerie, and Health Ministry," the directorate explained.
‘Water crisis
The directorate also disproved the alleged water shortage in Hatay and Adıyaman provinces.
"All earthquake-driven faults in the water networks of both cities have been repaired through intense work, and the governorates of both cities stated there was no problem in using tap water for hygiene," the directorate said.
The governorate also informed citizens to use bottled water for drinking, which has sufficient stock as the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) continues shipping water to the region.