– The Turkish Presidency’s Communications Directorate has denounced a string of fraudulent news and misinformation circling on social media, countering allegations of Istanbul’s famous Hagia Sophia Mosque being ‘sold’ to the Vatican.
In its most recent bulletin dedicated to fighting disinformation, the directorate discredited the rumors of a $38 billion transaction with the Vatican for the Hagia Sophia, underlining that such a claim was fundamentally ‘impossible’. The bulletin urged readers to disregard baseless rumors about Hagia Sophia’s sale or long-term closure for restoration.
On a similar note, authorities in Turkey recently embarked on an extensive restoration project for the historic Hagia Sophia, which resumed functioning as a mosque following a 2020 court decision. The work’s first phase is scheduled for completion in January 2024, and the second within the next three years. Throughout this period, the mosque will remain accessible to visitors and worshipers.
In the same dispatch, the directorate quashed rumors of a xenophobic rally in Turkey, clarifying that the video evidence was misrepresented and actually showed football fans chanting game-related slogans, with no evidence of racist speech.
Further debunking disinformation, the directorate dismissed claims of a racially motivated attack on a Kuwaiti national in Istanbul. It explained that the incident shown in the social media footage involved a dispute between three tourists in the Beyoğlu district, which was resolved swiftly by the intervention of local citizens.
The bulletin comes in the wake of an apparent increase in false news and disinformation about foreigners and refugees, often propagated by far-right politicians. Among these is Ümit Özdağ, head of the far-right anti-refugee Victory Party, who has been widely criticized for continuously promoting misleading narratives about refugees from Afghanistan and Syria.
Turkey currently shelters the largest refugee population worldwide, the majority being 3.6 million Syrians living under temporary protection. The first group of Syrian refugees, consisting of 250 individuals, sought refuge in Turkey more than ten years ago, seeking safety from the conflict and persecution under the Bashar Assad regime.