AKP troll prepared the information note sent to pro-government media in the IMM investigation

As part of the 'financial investigation' conducted into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, 22 people, including Taner Çetin, the Head of the IMM Press, Broadcasting and Public Relations Department, were detained on Tuesday, May 20. Immediately after Çetin's detention, an information note containing details about the investigation was sent to many journalists close to the government. This note alleged that there was a private relationship between IMM employee Ayşegül Karslı and Çetin, and that this situation led to Karslı's promotion. The same information note included photos of Karslı both without a headscarf and wearing one; these photos were later circulated by social media trolls.

While there was curiosity about who prepared the information note, which CHP Chairman Özgür Özel brought to the public's attention and reacted to, Halktv.com.tr has found the answer to this question. Examining the Word document titled 'Taner_Cetin_Hk', Halk TV detected the digital signature belonging to Tayyip Akyol in the file. It was determined that the document was created on May 11 at 00:26, and the final edit was made just before the operation, on Monday, May 19, at 19:15. While Tayyip Akyol's name appears as the author, it was learned that the note in question was served to journalists via WhatsApp on the morning of the operation.

The information note forwarded to journalists was later reported on by media outlets close to the government. The same content was also shared by numerous anonymous social media accounts. In the news reports in the media, the high number of sentences that matched the expressions in the information note word-for-word drew attention.

• Number of sentences matching the information note in the Yeni Şafak report: 12

• Number of matching sentences in the GDH Digital report: 7

• Number of matching sentences in the Takvim report: 9

• Number of matching sentences in the TGRT Haber report: 11

STAFF AT AN AKP MUNICIPALITY: TAYYİP AKYOL

The public had come to know Tayyip Akyol, known for his pro-AKP posts on social media, through claims he made after the reopening of Hagia Sophia for worship. Akyol, who had worked in the IMM Beyaz Masa (White Desk) unit since 2017, had made headlines by claiming he was fired for attending the Hagia Sophia opening. It was learned that Akyol, who left the IMM in 2022, started working at the AKP-run Bağcılar Municipality in 2024. Akyol shared this information on his LinkedIn account and has not made any posts since. On the other hand, AKP Bağcılar Mayor Abdullah Özdemir resigned from his post in February and was appointed as the AKP Istanbul Provincial Chairman.

During his time at the IMM, Akyol wrote articles on Milliyet's blog page, where he introduced himself as follows:

'A young anesthetist. Born in Istanbul. Originally from Erzurum. A distant colleague of the President. Amateur researcher. I write what I see for a pure generation, not what I hear.'

TARGETING THE OPPOSITION

Akyol, who announced that he started working at the Bağcılar Municipality, frequently makes posts on his social media accounts criticizing Ekrem İmamoğlu and the CHP.

News Source: 12punto