Ankara slams British weekly The Economist over 'cheap propaganda' on Türkiye

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Thursday harshly criticized the London-based weekly The Economist for making "cheap propaganda" on Türkiye.

"Here we go again! The Economist recycles its intellectually lazy, dull, and purposefully ignorant depiction of Türkiye. It seems like they feel obligated to announce the end of Turkish democracy through regurgitating cliches, misinformation and blatant propaganda.

"Outrageous headlines and provocative imagery might help them sell their so-called journal, so we congratulate them on their ingenious marketing techniques! But we must remind audiences that this is sensationalist journalism based on cheap propaganda and disinformation," Altun said on Twitter.

Altun's remarks came after The Economist published a story calling on outsiders to pay attention to Türkiye's upcoming elections, and claimed that the country is "on the brink of disaster" under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Turkish people have demonstrated their commitment to democracy, equality, and freedom time and again. Our political system has undergone many tribulations including a treacherous coup attempt in 2016 when our people spilled their blood to save our democracy.

"When our President Erdogan called on our citizens to resist the putschists, their response was a lesson for the ages. The so-called journalists and editors at the Economist obviously never bothered to provide decent journalism on our people’s struggle for our democracy," Altun said.

Altun noted: "This is largely due to their inexplicable and ongoing hatred against our democratically elected President, who has won every election he has entered," adding: "If you can’t be bothered to investigate how and why the Turkish public trusts Erdogan, why should anyone take you seriously?!

"Our country is headed for yet another election season where there is a vibrant debate about how to solve our challenges. There is real democratic politics taking place and the opposition has been trying to figure out their strategy for months now."

He also stressed that Turkish democracy’s vibrancy and people’s ownership of their political system are "very strong."

"I am convinced the Economist will never bother to report on what is actually going on in Türkiye. I just want to warn unsuspecting readers about their sad state!" Altun added.