Presidency’s Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said, “Our goal is to keep the truth alive and defend it, as well as to eliminate all forms of deception and disinformation.”
The "Turkic Council Social Media Training Programme" and the first meeting of the "Media Coordination Committee of the Turkic Council" started in İstanbul, hosted by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications.
Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun delivered the opening speech of the two-day programme.
Indicating that they were working to deepen the Turkic Council countries' solidarity and cooperation in the field of communication, as well as in all other areas, Fahrettin Altun stated that this programme was a significant step taken in that direction.
Explaining that systematic disinformation and deception terror were now among the most serious issues confronting the Turkic world, as well as the rest of the world, Altun added that while Türkiye had made significant strides in the fight against disinformation and deception terror to date, there was still a long road ahead.
Expressing that they remained at the forefront of the struggle for the truth for all humanity in the field of communication, as well as in all other areas, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Altun further stated, “It is essential that we serve the truth in all of our actions. Because the only way to safeguard ourselves and our countries against the scourge of disinformation is to ‘place the truth as the baseline of the information creation and consumption processes’. I believe that this training programme will be a vital chance for us to take our communication partnerships to higher levels.”
“Our goal is to eliminate all forms of disinformation”
Pointing out that countries, institutions, and individuals were confronted with various aspects of the menace of 'digital fascism' in the cyber world, Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun noted the following:
“We are witnessing global corporations positioning themselves above countries and laws and blatantly applying double standards. The degeneration of concepts such as impartiality and freedom of expression also appear as different facets of digital fascism. Regrettably, on the one hand, malevolent circles manipulate the masses through a variety of distortion techniques. On the other hand, they act as a catalyst, so to speak, for ‘arming’ these groups via algorithms and personalized data in order to disseminate disinformation. Thus, while propagating all forms of instability, they also pose a threat to national security. Disregarding democratic systems and national will, they view citizens as ‘subordinate users’ and want the millions of them trapped in echo chambers to hear ‘a single voice’. In this manner, they are attempting to control both the public sphere and the field of discourse. Furthermore, global social media corporations that grant freedom to terrorist organisations' propaganda turn a deaf ear to attempts and appeals to prevent them. We are all aware of how problematic this tendency is.”
Altun went on to say, “Naturally, we take the necessary steps to safeguard our countries and citizens against perception management operations, fake news, manipulation, and systematic disinformation on social media. We keep tabs on these types of agenda assassinations against our country, our nation, and our social sensitivities 24 hours a day, and we ceaselessly continue our struggle. Our goal is to keep the truth alive and defend it, as well as to eliminate all forms of deception and disinformation.”
“Our success in the fight against disinformation serves as an example for the world”
Fahrettin Altun stated that Türkiye waged a valiant war against all types of terrorist organisations both at home and abroad, particularly following FETO’s treacherous coup attempt on July 15 and its aftermath.
Expressing that Türkiye inflicted a major blow against international terrorism emanating from DAESH and PKK through Operations Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Peace Spring while consistently pushing foreign-based terrorist elements out of its territory, Altun noted that, aside from the military struggle, they also proactively fought disinformation, fake news, distortion, and defamation during this period.
Stating that they disrupted efforts on social media platforms to smear entities that Türkiye cooperated with in Syria, Libya and finally Karabakh in order to maintain peace and stability, Altun said, “We shed light on the truth with true and accurate information against disinformation, fake news and distortion attempts encountered, especially during our rightful struggle in Karabakh. Our success in the fight against disinformation serves as an example for the whole world.”
“We will prevent the digital media from manipulating our societies”
Pointing out that our brother and sister countries in the Turkic Council had a young and dynamic population, Altun stated the following, “The enormous changes and transformations brought about by digital communication affect each and every one of us profoundly. Today, our shared language, Turkish, is the world’s fourth most frequently used language for Internet content. The countries of the Turkic world are among the world’s fastest-growing numbers of social media users relative to their population. As this indicates, Turkish-speaking countries are not victims of the threats in the digital world; rather, they are real actors who must defend the truth, and take advantage of the opportunities in this world and regulate this space.”
Expressing that the impact of social media on all aspects of life in the world has today reached an incontrovertible degree, Altun also stated, “Of course, we will ensure that the freedom of thought and expression provided by social media is used within legitimate and legal limits. Simultaneously, we will work to prevent the digital media from manipulating our societies, preserve public order and safeguard the welfare of our countries. We must fight disinformation in collaboration with the relevant institutions and organisations of our countries. We must implement plans and projects that will bolster this goal on a national and international scale. Managing change and guiding it towards a healthier future is a shared responsibility of all stakeholders working on this effort. While utilizing social media to the fullest extent possible for the sake of freedom, we are also obligated to educate our citizens about this issue through media literacy programmes.
Altun said, “I would like to remind you that we must be vigilant against attempts by traitorous FETO elements aiming to poison the relations between our countries on all platforms.”
Following the opening speeches, the programme continues with speeches of academics, who are experts in their fields, on the following topics: "Social Media Use and Combating Disinformation," "Technological Transformation and Cyber Security Threats," " Manipulation of Social Media as a Tool for Intervention with States: Fake News and International Examples," "Social Media Channels Between Perception and Reality: Social Media Disinformation in Türkiye's Peace Operations", and "Media Literacy in Social Media Use and Combating Disinformation".
On the second day of the programme, the Directorate of Communications will give a presentation titled "Social Media Use and Combating Disinformation in the Karabakh Victory", Anadolu Agency Deputy Director-General Yusuf Özhan will give a presentation titled "Crisis Management in Social Media Channels and Being Prepared/Resilient to Disinformation", İstanbul University Faculty Member Assoc. Dr Betül Onay Doğan will give a presentation titled "Artificial Intelligence Effect in Social Media Manipulations", and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority will give a presentation titled "The Internet Law and Practices in Türkiye".
The programme aims to boost cooperation among Council members in combating disinformation
During the third meeting of the Ministers and High Officials in charge of Information and Media of Turkic Council, which was established as an international organization to promote comprehensive cooperation between Turkic speaking countries, held in Baku on 9-11 April, it was decided to organize a "Social Media Training" for member countries with the notion that sharing knowledge and experience in the fields of social media and combating disinformation would be beneficial.
In this context, representatives from member state institutions and organisations are attending the first training programme organized by the Directorate of Communications in İstanbul, which will last two days and include academics and experts.
The Social Media Training Programme aims to improve participants' knowledge of social media, internet law and practices in Türkiye, fight against disinformation, and crisis management in related fields. Furthermore, the programme intends to create communication networks and establish effective cooperation mechanisms amongst member countries' institutions that operate in the same field.
