Investigation into BabalaTV's 'the dam wall is cracked' post

Photo: AA

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İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation against Oğuzhan Uğur, the owner of BabalaTV, and other responsible persons for spreading misleading information.

The investigation comes after BabalaTV, in a tweet, claimed that "the wall of the Hatay Yarseli Dam has cracked", after the disastrous February 6 earthquakes in Kahramaranmaraş.

Uğur and other suspects were charged with "publicly disseminating misleading information" as they "made unfounded posts that the wall of Hatay Yarseli Dam cracked," which "caused fear and panic among the citizens in the earthquake area."

The charges are based on the recently amended Article 217/A of the Penal Code, also known as the "disinformation law," which can lead to 3 years of imprisonment.

BabalaTV is a popular online video channel with 3.9 million subscribers on Youtube and over 919.100 followers on Twitter. From the onset of the disastrous earthquake, Uğur has been actively involved in facilitating coordination efforts and collecting donations.

He stated in a video shared on his social media account surrounding the allegations that they had received news from someone who presented herself as a ministry official who stated that she had received satellite images that needed to be shared with people.

After they confirmed the woman's identity as a ministry official through LinkedIn and saw some similar news in other outlets, they decided to tweet about the event. However, when it turned out to be untrue, they immediately removed the tweet.

On February 7, President Erdoğan, in a stern message, warned 'provocateurs' who will spread misinformation about devastating earthquakes. (SD/WM)