Turkish Police Identify Hundreds of Disinformation Accounts Regarding Earthquakes to Illegal Aid Collection Web, 14 People Detained

Illustration. (Unsplash/Rami Al-Zayat)

JAKARTA - Turkish police have arrested 14 people suspected of spreading disinformation regarding the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Turkey last week.

In a statement Monday, Turkish police said some 475 account managers had been identified as "engaged in sharing provocative content" on social media platforms surrounding the earthquake, "with the intention of spreading fear and panic among citizens."

Their details have been forwarded to the relevant units, and according to instructions issued by the Attorney General's Office, 56 people have been arrested, 14 of whom have been detained, said the statement, reported CNN February 14.

The Turkish Police further said they had closed 41 phishing websites and dealt with four accounts of social media platforms "that solicited money from citizens using or impersonating the names of government agencies."

Apart from that, the police also identified the addresses of three crypto asset wallets which were used wrongly to collect earthquake relief. The wallet was "later frozen," according to the statement.

It is known that access to the Twitter social media platform was restricted by the Turkish authorities after the earthquake last Wednesday, before it was finally restored.