Pro-government troll campaign against Üsküdar Municipality backfires! They printed fake brochures...
AKP-linked troll accounts claimed that an individual dressed as Santa Claus was distributing brochures on behalf of the Üsküdar Municipality. The municipality issued a statement declaring that the individual in question has no connection to the institution.
12punto
With only a few days left until the New Year, troll accounts close to the AKP have begun perception operations on social media.
One account claimed that the Üsküdar Municipality had an employee dress in a Santa Claus costume to distribute brochures inviting people to the Women's Labor Market on behalf of the municipality.
The post, which targeted Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, included the statement, "Let it be known that this is an Islamic country. Such nonsense must come to an end."
Following this post by the AKP-linked troll account, a statement was issued by the Üsküdar Municipality.
The statement clarified that the person dressed as Santa Claus has no relationship with the municipality and emphasized that no brochures were printed for the announcement of the Women's Labor Market.
At the end of the statement, it was noted that legal proceedings would be initiated regarding this slander.
The full statement from the Üsküdar Municipality is as follows:
"To the press and the public,
It has been observed that certain social media accounts are sharing posts claiming that an individual dressed as Santa Claus in Üsküdar is distributing brochures for our New Year's Women's Labor Market on behalf of our municipality.
The person in question has no connection whatsoever with our municipality. Our municipality has not printed any brochures for the announcement of our Women's Labor Market, and it is understood that this entirely fabricated act was carried out for the purpose of provocation.
We leave the intent behind targeting our New Year's Market, which we organized to support women's labor in Üsküdar, with baseless allegations to the judgment of our neighbors.
We state once again that we will never allow such attempts aimed at creating an environment of hatred and animosity in our Üsküdar, where people of different faiths live in peace.
We respectfully announce to our neighbors in Üsküdar and the entire public that our municipality will initiate legal proceedings regarding the incident and the posts made.
Üsküdar Municipality"