Turkey Opposition Labels Erdogan 'Fabricator' for Using Doctored Video to Criticize Rival

Kemal Kilicdaroglu took a swipe at incumbent Tayyip Erdogan for using a doctored video to criticize him ahead of the elections. This comes as Erdogan doubled down on using the manipulated footage to criticize Kilicdaroglu as both candidates are up for the Turkish presidency in the coming runoff elections.

Late on Monday, Erdogan doubled down on alleging that Kilicdaroglu was linked to an outlawed Kurdish militant group during an interview with state broadcaster TRT, citing the manipulated footage that allegedly showed spliced footage between Kilicdaroglu and a Kurdish militant. This comes despite Erdogan having already been previously criticized for showing footage manipulated in his favor. The origins of the video footage are unknown, and Kilicdaroglu called the incumbent a “fraudulent fabricator” in a tweet.

“I am tired of being slandered, but he is not tired of slandering me,” said Kilicdaroglu, who is backed by a six-party opposition alliance.

Erdogan’s opponents see the incumbent’s accusations as a symptom of Turkey’s media landscape which has been shifted to favor Erdogan following a decade of cracking down on media and press freedoms. Turkey is ranked 165 out of 180 in the countries for press freedoms by Reporters Without Borders.

Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu are set to go into a special runoff election after both men failed to reach the 50 percent threshold of votes in the recent elections this month. The runoffs would take place on May 28. The recent elections were also seen as the most consequential yet, as Erdogan seeks to extend his rule over Turkey for another term.

Also on Monday, Sinan Ogan, the nationalist candidate that placed third in the recent elections, came out to endorse Erdogan for the coming runoffs. Ogan announced his endorsement in a press conference in Ankara, saying that his campaign has made nationalists “key players” in the country’s politics. Ogan also cited that the majority that Erdogan’s party has in parliament as another reason for endorsing the incumbent.

“We believe our decision will be the right decision for our country and nation,” said Ogan, who also said that the endorsement of Erdogan was also due to the principle of a “non-stop struggle” against terrorism.

Photo: Astro Medya Org/Wikimedia Commons(CC by 2.0)