Fatih Portakal comments on Gökhan Zan and the audio recording: 'I still hold the same opinion'
Following the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) announcement that it has withdrawn the candidacy of Gökhan Zan, whom it had nominated for Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, the allegations that emerged continue to be a topic of discussion. Journalist Fatih Portakal has supported Gökhan Zan's claim that the audio recordings are fake.
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The decision by TİP to withdraw Gökhan Zan, whom they had nominated as the candidate for Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, has become a major topic of discussion.
While TİP stated that they withdrew Zan's candidacy because they believe the circulating audio recording is genuine, Gökhan Zan commented that the audio recordings, which are cited as the source of the allegations, are 'fake'.
Journalist Fatih Portakal supported Zan, saying, "He wouldn't do such a thing; this is a deepfake, it is fake, I still hold the same opinion. I hope he is telling the truth."
In his statement, Portakal said, "I don't know him personally; I spoke with Gökhan Zan on the phone once or twice. When I heard it, I was stunned. He wouldn't do such a thing; this is a deepfake, it is fake, I still hold the same opinion. I hope he is telling the truth."
Here are the highlights from Portakal's statement:
"AN AUDIO RECORDING WAS BEING MENTIONED"
"Suddenly, things got chaotic. An allegation regarding Gökhan Zan came to the agenda. It was such a serious allegation that an audio recording was being mentioned. Money was being thrown around, millions of dollars... TİP stated in their announcement that they had withdrawn Zan's candidacy, and Zan made a statement today. Regarding the audio recordings, Zan said, 'It is a deepfake, meaning it is fake; I did not have such a conversation.'
"I DO NOT WANT TO BELIEVE IT"
I don't know him personally; I spoke with Gökhan Zan on the phone once or twice. When I heard it, I was stunned. He wouldn't do such a thing; this is a deepfake, it is fake, I still hold the same opinion. I hope he is telling the truth. I do not want to believe that Gökhan Zan did such a thing, and I hope he hasn't. You can't trust people either; he is not your own flesh and blood. There is the struggle he put up for Hatay, the struggle he put up for the people. You also think about our current times and what kind of fake videos can be made. Lütfü Savaş and AK Party members are being mentioned in the matter."