A viral notice claiming the Turkish government has urged Indian tourists not to cancel their trips to Türkiye is fake.
Amidst military escalations with India, reports of Pakistan using Turkish Asisguard Songar drones to target military and civilian areas gained headlines, with many calling for a boycott of Türkiye and urging Indian tourists to not travel.
The viral notice bearing the Turkish flag, is titled “Kamu Duyurusu" which translates to, 'Public Announcement'. and claims to be issued by a "Department of Tourism, Ankara". The notice promises Indian travelers "utmost courtesy" assuring them of safety, adding that most locals in Türkiye are unaware of the India-Pakistan conflict.
It is being shared on X with the caption, "Turkey begging Indians to come back and travel…"
Indian media outlets The Economic Times, The New Indian Express, Financial Times, Business Today, Zee News and News18, misreported the viral notice as a genuine advisory by the Turkiye government. The media outlets cited the fake announcement while reporting on the social media backlash and decisions by Indian travel platforms to suspend travel packages to both Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
The image was also posted on X by politicians including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi and Kerala BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Click here to view.
FACT-CHECK:
BOOM checked the official website and social media accounts of Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism but found no such announcement.
Additionally, the layout and language of the viral image are also inconsistent with the other official notices issued by Turkish government bodies.
We also did not find any credible Turkish media reporting on it.
BOOM reached out to Türkiye based fact-checking organization Teyit, which also confirmed that no such statement has been issued.
Beşire Korkmaz, Fact-checker and Editor at Teyit told BOOM, "Although the phrase ‘Kamu duyurusu’ (‘Public announcement’ in Turkish) appears in the top right corner, the rest of the text is in English, which is inconsistent."
Korkmaz also clarified that the correct name of the tourism ministry is the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism, not the 'Department of Tourism', adding that there was no official announcement matching the viral notice on the website.
BOOM has reached out to Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the article will be updated on a response.
