The Presidency's Directorate of Communications published the Disinformation Bulletin for November 14-20.
The bulletin notes that images of a woman alleged to be Somalian were circulated on social media by the terrorist organisation PKK and its Syrian branch, YPG, in relation to the İstiklal Street terrorist attack.
Emphasising that the claims regarding the woman in the video who states that "she is Ahlam Albashir's older sister, and her sister had nothing to do with the attack in İstanbul" are completely false, the bulletin notes, "The statement of the woman in the video saying, 'My sister went to Türkiye from Somalia. She lives in İstanbul. My sister didn't cause the explosion. We don't even know the PKK,' was deliberately mistranslated. The aforementioned video in no way contains the claimed statements. In the video, Somalians residing in Türkiye are urged to 'exercise caution.'"
The bulletin states that the claim "the perpetrator of the terrorist attack on İstiklal Street went home and waited for the police" was made in an attempt to cast doubt on the meticulous operations conducted by the institutions and law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Türkiye. It highlights that the terrorist was apprehended and detained at the location determined by an extensive investigation.
The claim "the UK warned its citizens three days before the terrorist attack on İstiklal Street" is also a distortion as the text cited as the basis for the claim was taken from the UK's country guide on its website, which included general information about the coronavirus, security, entry requirements, and travel warnings for 226 countries and regions.
The disinformation bulletin indicates that the claim "Jiyan Tosun perpetrated the attack on İstiklal Street" was shared on various social media accounts; however, it does not reflect the truth.
The bulletin notes that the Greek media's report, "the Greek citizen Anna Depola, who was injured in the terrorist attack on İstiklal Street, was mistreated in the hospital where she was taken, and a treatment fee was requested," is false. The fragment that was lodged in Depola's body at the time of the explosion was removed, and she received the necessary treatment at the Istanbul Training and Research Hospital without being charged a fee.
In addition, the doctors decided to operate on Depola, but this decision was left to the patient's approval because her condition was not urgent, and the transfer of Depola to Greece was secured; she informed the authorities she desired to return to Greece and undergo surgery there.
The bulletin emphasises that the claim "Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy submitted a request to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to expand the hotel premises of his company" is unfounded and adds:
"The allocation of the aforementioned location was made in 2000, and the hotel built on the site was put into service in 2010. The procedure for approving the additional allocation to the hotel was accepted in 2012. The share transfer of the hotel took place in 2020. Therefore, when the hotel was opened, and the application for the additional allocation was submitted, it had no relationship with Minister Ersoy. Ersoy assumed the minister position on July 9, 2018, and transferred all of his responsibilities and titles within his company upon taking office. The application for the additional allocation in question was approved in 2012."