A ‘public announcement’ allegedly issued by Turkey’s ‘department of tourism’ urging Indian travellers not to cancel trips to the country has gone viral on social media. The letter, bearing the Turkish flag and the words “Kamu Duyurusu” (public notice or announcement), says that a “vast majority of the local population is unaware of the conflict taking place between India and Pakistan” and thus there is “no reason to postpone or cancel any trips to Türkiye.” It adds that “there are no restrictions or safety issues affecting Indian guests.”
The note has emerged amid calls in India to boycott Turkey after the Indian armed forces explicitly said that Pakistan used weaponry supplied by China and Turkey to target military posts and civilian habitations in the recent conflict. Additionally, after India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror bases in Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack where 26 civilians were shot dead, Turkey said it condemned the “provocative” action by India. Since then, Indians cancelled trips en masse while travel businesses, such as Ixigo, EaseMyTrip and Cox & Kings, suspended bookings to Turkey in a bid to express solidarity with the nation. Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia have also suspended their partnerships with Turkish institutes.
Social media users who shared this ‘public announcement’ seemed to suggest that Turkey was ‘begging’ Indian tourists to come visit.
The viral letter also made headlines across Indian news outlets. The Economic Times, Financial Express, News18, Business Today, and pro-Right mouthpiece OpIndia, published reports on this, citing social media claims. Zee News also mentioned the letter without sharing the image in its report.
BJP Kerala president and former minister of state for ministry of electronics and information technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, shared the letter on X with a firm “No thank you”. (Archive) Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “Indians won’t come spending money on tourism in a country that uses the same to arm Pakistan” as she posted the letter on X. (Archive)
Journalists Vir Sanghvi (@virsanghvi) and Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) also posted the same notice emphasising that it would be irrational to expect Indians to visit a nation that openly offers military support to Pakistan. Sanghvi’s post had garnered over a million views. (Archives 1, 2)
Sanghvi’s X post was further amplified by Congress leader Rajeev Shukla, who is an RS MP and the vice-president of India’s cricket board, BCCI. It was also shared by journalist Swati Chaturvedi.
An X user named Paul Antonopoulos (@oulosP), whose bio says he is a journalist, also shared the letter and said that Indians should instead travel to Greece. The post had 1.5 million views at the time this article was written.
Fact Check
To check whether any such letter was formally issued, Alt News first reviewed official social media handles of the Turkish government, including the ministry of culture and tourism, and the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. We found no such announcement or letter. Readers should also note that the official name is ministry of culture and tourism, not ‘department of tourism’ as signed off in the letter.
This notice was not listed in the announcement or press sections of the ministry of culture and tourism or the ministry of foreign affairs. We also found that the press statements or the bulletins issued by either of the ministries looked nothing like the viral notice.
This was also corroborated by Turkey-based fact-checking organisation, Malumatfurus, which was the first to post on X that the letter was fake. “‘Kamu Duyurusu’ is correct Turkish translation; yet, why should they use Turkish title in an announcement in English? If they are aiming at the Indian population, they shouldn’t have been using Turkish title,” they told Alt News, adding that “The image is not in line with MoCT’s or Turkish government’s announcement templates.”
Alt News then reached out to the ministry of culture and tourism, Turkey, since the sign-off in the viral letter mentioned them. They categorically told us they had not issued it. “This letter you mentioned has not been shared by our Ministry,” a spokesperson told us over email.
To sum up, the so-called public announcement urging Indians to visit Turkey and shared by many influential social media users is fake. Turkey’s tourism ministry told Alt News it issued no such letter.
Note: This story has been updated with more claims.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
