Doğan Holding slams ‘baseless’ smear campaign on several media outlets

ISTANBUL

Ahter Kutadgu, the deputy president of Doğan Holding responsible for corporate communication, has slammed false reports on several media outlets which continue to smear the company over unfounded claims over Petrol Ofisi. 

 “There is a new sort of media outlets in Turkey. The main characteristics of this group are to tell lies about anyone who is not like with them for smearing reasons…They do not publish refutations or corrections. When we explain what the truth is, they do not care and keep creating new lies,” he said. 

Doğan Holding has categorically denied the accusations on several occasions about Petrol Ofisi, of which a majority of stakes was sold to OMV in 2010, giving detailed accounts answering the apparent claims.

In March, a Turkish prosecutor indicted 47 top executives of one of Turkey’s biggest holdings, its biggest lender and one of Europe’s biggest energy companies on “organized crime” charges, based on allegations strongly refuted on several occasions in the past. 

Doğan Holding explained the truth about Petrol Ofisi to Hürriyet Daily News on March 29, following dailies Hürriyet and Posta over the weekend.

“We explained the truth in detail. Despite this, the smear campaign has still been continuing over non-existing taxes or other misleading things in several media outlets,” said Kutadgu. 

“We do not see such media outlets as an addressee. And we do not want to enter into a polemic with them. We refute their smears and lies when we have to. We are very sorry as the journalism profession is dirty in such ways. This profession has passed many exams, but we have never seen such a media system which is based on lies and smears. Such systems will fade away when their supporters opt out, but their smears will remain and be remembered. In these times, our democracy is harmed,” he added.