The Directorate of Communications compiled and released the Disinformation Bulletin, which revealed the truth behind the earthquake-related disinformation in the press.
The Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Centre for Combating Disinformation, released the Disinformation Bulletin regarding the Kahramanmaraş-centred earthquakes.
The bulletin covers the allegations; "Construction equipment headed to the disaster area were blocked", "Turkish Consulate General in Milan asked Italians to make donations to the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation", "Rescue team from Israel is kept on hold", "Hatay Airport was repaired by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality", "Rescue team from Hungary was ill-treated", "The district governor's office seized the relief van that Peoples' Democratic Party 's (HDP) Ağrı Patnos Municipality attempted to send to the earthquake-affected area" and "The buildings collapsed in Hatay were built by Ser-Al İnşaat, whose owner Servet Altaş was awarded by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan."
The bulletin says that the claim made on various social media accounts that "Construction equipment headed to the disaster area were blocked" does not reflect the reality, and as of February 8, 22:00 hours, 5,531 vehicles and construction equipment have been employed in search and rescue operations in earthquake-affected areas."
While the number of this equipment is increasing by the hour, it is reported that the vehicles from neighbouring provinces are transferred to the areas based on the need and that some of the machinery that arrives to support the operations is deployed after planning and coordination.
It is stressed that otherwise, the unplanned movement of vehicles causes traffic congestion and chaos, impeding operations in the region and that the equipment is not blocked or arbitrarily kept on hold.
The bulletin also states that the claim that "Turkish Consulate General in Milan asked Italians to make donations to the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation," which was shared on several social media accounts and covered in the press, was a manipulation and noted the following:
"All of Türkiye's overseas missions made the same calls after the disaster. In these calls, it was stated that cash donations could be made on the websites of AFAD, as well as the Turkish Red Crescent and the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation. Examining the official accounts of the Turkish Consulate General in Milan reveals that there are posts indicating that donations can be made to AFAD, the Turkish Red Crescent and the Diyanet Foundation. It has been found that manipulations were made regarding the calls based on only one of these posts."
"There is neither a lengthy delay nor deliberate holdup"
The bulletin states that the claim that the "rescue team from Israel is kept on hold" is not true, and it was noted that the rescue team from Israel was kept on hold for a short time for coordination purposes, like rescue units from other countries, and there is neither a lengthy delay nor deliberate holdup.
The bulletin notes that, according to information obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arriving rescue teams were transferred to disaster-stricken areas after coordination and procedures, indicating that "In his most recent statement, the source of the claim, Fatih Altaylı, said: "Israeli rescue team has arrived at the duty site."
Stressing that the claim "Hatay Airport was repaired by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality" is a manipulation, the bulletin states, "Under the coordination of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, repair work has begun at the airport by the İGA Airport staff. Vehicles from the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, like those from many other municipalities, are assigned to transport rubble and excavation waste at the airport."
It was said that the claim made on a TV channel and social media that "the rescue team from Hungary was ill-treated" is false. Ambassador of Hungary to Ankara, Viktor Matis, stated on social media that "When the bus carrying the Hungarian rescue team ran out of gas, one of the people paid for it, and the shop owner gave half of the pastries he had as a gift at the place where they bought the pastry."
The bulletin, which states that the claim "The district governor's office seized the relief van that Peoples' Democratic Party’s (HDP) Ağrı Patnos Municipality attempted to send to the earthquake-affected area" is not true, also notes:
"Aid was collected in Patnos to be sent to the earthquake zone, as it was in every region of our country. It was discovered that a vehicle loaded with aid collected in Patnos Municipality lacked insurance, inspection, and license plate. Additionally, with the consent of Patnos Mayor Emrah Kılıç and his entourage, the vehicle was sent to the district governor's office's aid collection area because it was unsuited for long-distance winter driving. The mentioned supplies were loaded onto vehicles used for collecting aid and then transported to the AFAD Aid Collection Centre in Ağrı by AFAD. Therefore, the claim that the district governor's office seized the supplies in any manner is false."
It was made clear in the bulletin that the company has no connection to Servet Altaş, who was given an award by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Anatolian Broadcasters Association award ceremony, despite claims that "The buildings collapsed in Hatay were built by Ser-Al İnşaat, whose owner Servet Altaş was awarded by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan." It was further noted that Servet Altaş, a businessman who resides in Ordu and serves as the chairman of the Ordu MÜSİAD (Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association), has no investments in Hatay. The similarity of the names was identified as the source of the disinformation, and it was discovered that the claims on social media were false.