Directorate of Communications' private office expenditure: 1,665 minimum wages

It has been revealed that the Private Office spent 28.4 million TL in 2024 alone. This figure is equivalent to approximately 1,665 minimum wages. The details of the Directorate's expenditures, which reached a total of 5 billion TL throughout the year, have been showered with criticism by the opposition. It is alleged that the activities that drew public attention, particularly under the "disinformation" label, were linked to expenditures that intensified during the local election process.

Established in 2018 with the claim of "strengthening the Turkey brand," the Directorate of Communications has become the center of opposition criticism due to its activities. The expenditures of the Directorate, which the opposition accuses of "managing public perception in favor of the government," have also become a subject of debate. Entering 2024 with an initial appropriation of 4 billion 126 million TL, the Directorate of Communications utilized 5 billion 56 million TL in resources throughout the year.

A FAST START TO 2025 AS WELL

The Directorate of Communications also started 2025 at a fast pace. Accordingly, the total expenditure made by the Directorate in the January-March period of 2025 was recorded as 1 billion 565 million TL.

According to a report by BirGün, the share of the Private Office within the total expenditure of the Directorate, which spent 5 billion TL in 2024 and 1.5 billion TL in the first three months of 2025, was also calculated. It was learned that the annual expenditure of the office, which is responsible for tasks such as organizing the work schedule of Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, preparing his official and private correspondence, and conducting protocol and ceremonial affairs, was equal to 1,665 minimum wages.

28.4 MILLION TL IN 2024

The 2024 financial reports of the Directorate of Communications, which is debated for the "disinformation" label it attaches to news critical of the government, revealed the scale of the Private Office's expenditures. According to the reports, 28 million 314 thousand 281 TL was spent in 2024 from the budget where tasks related to Communications Director Altun's schedule are organized.

ELECTION OVERTIME

The Directorate, which attaches the "disinformation" label to news critical of the government, explained the increase in the number of posts by the Center for Combating Disinformation in 2024 with the "increase in news containing disinformation during the local election process." The number of personnel at the Directorate, which was 584 in 2018, also skyrocketed to 1,783 by the end of 2024.

News Source: 12punto