Turkey’s security directorate probes social media posts on cooking oil prices
* Photo: Social media
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After Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that "the ones involved in manipulation through shortage of food would be identified", the Directorate General of Security has announced that action has been taken against the social media accounts that posted messages about cooking oil prices.
In a statement released by the Security Directorate, it has been indicated that "within the scope of the powers and responsibilities defined in laws, the General Security Directorate's Department of Fighting Cyber Crimes and its affiliated units have been carrying out virtual patrols on the Internet 24/7 with the aim of struggling against crimes and criminals."
The Directorate has announced that "as part of these virtual patrol activities, action has been taken against 45 accounts which share provocative posts and disinformation about 'oil prices' on Twitter."
What happened?
Due to the war between Russia and Ukraine that broke out with Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, the price of a ton of raw sunflowers increased from 1,400 to over 2,000 USD. The price of sunflower oil has increased in chain markets as a result of the ongoing crisis.
After the representatives from the sector reportedly made statements and said that Turkey's stocks of sunflower oil would suffice for only 1-1.5 months, citizens flocked to markets to buy oil. While markets stopped selling more than 2 5-liter oil, the prices started to range from 139 to 180 lira.
What did Soylu say?
Making a statement earlier, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu said, "They are now trying to make something come up in Turkey by provocation on social media, saying 'there will be a shortage of' this and that food product and trying to make people rush to markets. Our Minister of Agriculture has made a statement. We don't have such a shortage, God willing."
Reiterating that "Turkey does not have any shortage about these issues", Minister Soylu said, "Our friends will not refrain from identifying the ones involved in this manipulation not only on social media, but in real life as well and giving the necessary penalties." (RT/SD)
