Turkish police has launched a legal probe into dozens of social media users for allegedly spreading the rumor that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has died. A relevant hashtag “he is apparently dead” #olmus in Turkish has been trending on Twitter since Wednesday morning bringing the fragile Turkish Lira into turbulence.
Police said on Wednesday that “manipulative” messages were posted under the Twitter hashtag #olmus. Thirty people suspected of posting “lies” have been referred to the judiciary for investigation, the statement said.
Rumors about Erdogan’s health became a hot subject on social media after a short video clip purportedly showing him walking with great difficulty went viral on Friday.
#ölmüş
Çok kişinin günahına girdiniz sayın Erdoğan. Elinizde zihniyetinizde kirli. pic.twitter.com/B4rQB4VBBZ— Gizoo Demir (@Gizoodemir) November 3, 2021
Several videos to refute the claims were posted On Wednesday by his communications director and many AKP politicians but also by the Presidency in which Erdogan said beggining of october that sports is very important for the health.
Sağlık için spor yapmak çok çok önemli. Ben de haftada üç gün spor yapmaya gayret ediyorum. Harekette bereket vardır. 🏀 pic.twitter.com/7sDmQV7MSp
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) October 3, 2021
Dosta güven, düşmana korku… pic.twitter.com/ljoR6UEAuI
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) November 3, 2021
Another video in July showed Erdogan dozing off for a few seconds during an address to members of his ruling AK Party, unleashing speculation that the 67-year-old president might be ailing.
The Turkish Service of BBC, international media news agencies such as REUTERs reported and English speaking Turkish media reported about the issue.
*thumbnail: archive picture
He takes medication for his epilepsy that has by far less to do with his physical health than mental, evidently. Hitler also had infliction with different drugs for his ailments.
He may not be dying or as physically impaired as reported but his cognitive state begs question whether these drugs effect his decision making given how breathlessly astounding this uneducated dictator comes across lacking reason or shame.