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A sham announcement from the Turkish government is circulating online, urging Indian tourists to refrain from cancelling or postponing their trips amid New Delhi’s hostilities with Pakistan.
The announcement says that the vast majority of Turkish people are unaware of the conflict between India and Pakistan, that Indians are still warmly welcome to the country, and that they will be safe throughout their stay in Turkey.
It’s been shared on social media against the backdrop of a Turkish boycott in India, which includes calls to boycott travel to Turkey and the severing of ties with Turkish businesses and universities, after Ankara was quick to back Islamabad in the conflict.
Various Indian media outlets even picked up the supposed government statement and reported on it as if it were authentic.
It has also made its way to the Greek side of X, with some claiming that it shows the Turkish tourism industry is panicking, and that holidaymakers should consider travelling instead to Greece, which they say is a more stalwart ally of India.
However, several clues show us that the announcement is fake, beginning with the fact that it’s supposedly been shared by the “Department of Tourism”.
No such department exists: its real name is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The difference may be subtle, but it’s one that an official government announcement would get right.
The alleged announcement doesn’t appear on the list of recent official press releases issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the picture of it shared on social media looks nothing like any of those authentic statements.
Additionally, no reputable Turkish news organisation appears to have reported on it.
EuroVerify reached out to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism but did not receive a request for comment.
Nevertheless, the Indian boycott against Turkey is very much real, after reports that Pakistan used Turkish drones against India as the countries clashed following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Five armed terrorists killed 26 civilians there on 22 April, targeting Hindus in particular. Indian police claimed that two of the militants were Pakistani nationals, and the government accused Pakistan of supporting them.
The latter firmly denies any involvement in the incident.
Turkey was among the countries that backed Pakistan after India responded to the attack with military action, prompting calls to boycott the country alongside Azerbaijan, which also voiced its support for Islamabad.
Indian travel sites say that cancellations of trips to Turkey have shot up over the past week, with some companies even outright discouraging travel there.
