Turkey launches probe into ‘provocative’ social media posts over quake

ANKARA

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara is investigating dozens of people for what the government calls “provocative” social media posts about the deadly earthquake that jolted Turkey’s eastern province of Elazığ on Jan. 24.

The Ankara prosecutor’s office is checking 50 individuals on suspicion of “spreading fear and panic” and “insulting the Turkish people, the Turkish republic and state institutions.”

The suspects are accused of sharing fake images about the quake on social media.  

Turkish authorities were winding up their rescue efforts on Jan. 24.     

In a joint press conference with ministers, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Jan. 27 told reporters that 24,000 tents had been provided, 1,000 container shelters were being built, and funds released to repair damaged buildings.

Thirty-five of the victims died in Elazığ and four in the neighbouring province of Malatya, officials said.     

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 86 injured were still being treated in hospitals — 18 of them in intensive care units.  

Following the ministers’ press conference, the death toll from the deadly earthquake rose to 40.