Foreign outlets who have been covering Turkey’s upcoming 14 May elections have been under fire from the Turkish government and the pro-government media.
The Economist was the first to spark the attacks with its cover page calling the upcoming polls “the most important elections of 2023”, which included an “Erdoğan must go” visual, referring to the Turkish president.
Ömer Çelik, the spokesman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said that foreign operation centres would receive the response they deserved, in relation to the magazine’s coverage of 14 May elections.
“Western magazines and newspapers have mobilised once more to influence political processes in Turkey. They have laid out comments against our president. In fact, they should have learned their lesson by now. It has been repeatedly proved that they have no effect on any issue,” Çelik said.
“This is not The Economist’s first incident,” said Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the country’s foreign minister on Twitter.
“Nobody can usurp the democratic will of the Turkish nation. Our people will give the required response on 14 May,” he added.
İbrahim Kalın, the presidential spokesman, mentioned the Economist’s claim that a new opposition government in Turkey will likely mend ties with the West.
“I know very well this language, this rhetoric and the context that it has been voiced. Be calm. The days where you gave instructions to our country are over. The nation will say the final word in the ballot box,” he said on Twitter in response to the Economist.
French magazines Le Point and L’Express, German magazine Der Spiegel and the US daily Washington Post were also targeted by the government and the pro-government media.
“Erdoğan-Putin the pact of autocrats,” was the headline on the cover page of L’Express, mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support to the Turkish president.
“In Istanbul, a Western diplomat confided to us his fear of a scenario where Erdoğan would be re-elected thanks to the flagrant help of Putin, with massive consequences for Ukraine, immigration and NATO. He was also sorry to find so little echo in European capitals,” the magazine said.
L’Express claimed that Europe is pursuing its grand silent strategy so as not to feed Erdoğan’s anti-Western discourse.
Le Point also likened Erdoğan to the Russian president, adding that he is seeking his dreams of a new empire.
A broken crescent on the top of a throne that Erdoğan sits upon in Der Spiegel’s cover page was interpreted by Turkey’s government media as a display of hatred against Islam.
An editorial of the Washington Post claiming a shadow of growing despotism lurks over Turkey’s elections also faced the outrage of the pro-government outlets.
Erdoğan reacted to the election coverage by foreign magazines on Friday.
“Nobody except political engineers will fail on 14 May. Except foreign magazines that threaten the nation, nobody will wear the willow,” he said during a campaign speech in the eastern province of Erzurum.
The coverage of foreign outlets have also disturbed opposition voters, as the Turkish government has stepped up efforts to frame the opposition parties as puppets of the Western countries.
Many on social media protested the related coverages, saying such reports only increased the ammunition for Erdoğan, who will use them as propaganda points.
