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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared on a program co-aired by two pro-government broadcasters, Kanal D and CNN Türk last night (August 11).
It was seen during the program that there was a teleprompter behind the four journalists who were asking questions to the president. Also, it was heard that someone whispered at the president as he momentarily paused while answering a question.
As the issue became a trending topic on Twitter, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu mocked the president, saying, "Erdoğan, let alone the answers you give to the 'questions,' you even had to get the insults you threw at me written on prompter. Thanks to you, the country saw an interview with whispers from a journalist."
Ali Babacan, a former senior figure of the AKP who now leads the Democracy and Progress Party, wrote that "We left behind another broadcast where I answered questions without using a prompter." He had appeared on Habertürk at around the same time as the president's broadcast.
A social media user shared a screenshot of the broadcast and wrote, "Here is the prompter that has been ruling the country for 19 years."
Erdoğan is known for using teleprompters during his speeches but it was the first time that such aid was spotted during a live broadcast with journalists.
Since Erdoğan was reading the answers from the teleprompter, the questions to be asked should have also been predetermined, some suggested.
"I don't have a positive view of social media"
During the program, the president reiterated his criticism of social media, which he says causes false news to spread.
"I don't have a positive view of social media at all. With the parliament's opening, works regarding social media should be done, I believe," he said.
Last year, Turkey enacted a social media law that obligates major social media companies to have a legal representative and store their users' data in Turkey.
While all relevant platforms have complied with the law, the president was not happy with Twitter's handling of the issue. "Twitter says, 'We have an office in Turkey.' You don't have an office in Turkey, you don't have employees.
"So, we should make them pay for that. You'll pay your taxes. If you don't open [an office] you'll pay for that."
Ekşi Sözlük, a popular social network site in Turkey, will also pay a price, said Erdoğan. "We won't allow swearing at national and spiritual values and calls for an uprising hiding behind nicknames. This platform has become a hotspot of fake news, racism, and calls for terrorism."
On August 10, prosecutors in İstanbul opened an investigation into a discussion on Ekşi Sözlük about "what more needs to happen for the people to revolt against the government." (AÖ/VK)
