Türkiye slams The Economist over Erdoğan cover

ANKARA

Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun has slammed the British weekly The Economist for making “cheap propaganda” on Türkiye.

The cover of this week’s magazine was titled “Turkey’s looming dictatorship.” The Economist is calling on outsiders to pay attention to the country’s upcoming elections and claimed that the country is “on the brink of disaster” under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“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,” Altun tweeted.

“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,” he said.

Turkish presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, for his part, also criticized the magazine, attributing the cover to Türkiye’s desire for reform for the global order established in the world.

“We, as Türkiye, are expressing this demand and claim on every platform under the leadership of our president. Of course, some are offended by that,” he said.

“As the elections approach, they started to spread some slanderous news claiming that a new dictatorship has been established in Türkiye and the elections will definitely result in Erdoğan’s favor as he or the government will interfere in these elections, even by interfering in a democracy where citizens go to the polls and vote within the framework of democratic principles, by trying to influence the vote preference and free will of the voters.”