“The dark web world you’re trying to deal with will fall into the hands of foreign intelligence agencies. Playing Cambridge Analytica is beyond your ability, folks.”
That’s what Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kirikdaroglu said last week, amid allegations that deepfakes are being used to discredit the Turkish opposition.
According to local Turkish media, CHP chairman Tunkay Ozkan provided some more details.
Ozkan said the General Directorate of Communications contacted Kirikdaroglu and said a propaganda video would be made against them via the dark web manipulated sound and images.
“They told us that such things were being done and that it violated democracy, human rights and the law.
They came to tell us because their consciences were offended. We also have a list of names,” Ozcan said.
The videos are being paid for in Bitcoin, the chair said, bringing cryptocurrency to what some call the most important election of the year.
Current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently released a fake video that makes it appear that Mr. Kilicdaroglu is endorsing the EU, the US and, of course, the PKK, a covert terrorist organization in Turkey.
Ozkan said he was warned that the video would be manipulated as if it had affiliation with FETÖ or the PKK.
Within the past 24 hours, another potentially more serious fake video has emerged of Muharrem Ince, a presidential candidate from a much smaller party, withdrawing his candidacy.
He said the purported sex tapes circulating online were deepfakes using footage taken from “Israeli porn sites,” but he is still out of the race.
Some said it would affect the CHP as the run-off vote was almost certain as Ince was still running, Kirikuda Rogulu said in a statement:
“Dear Russian friends, you are behind the montages, conspiracies, deepfake content and tapes that were exposed in our country yesterday. If you want to continue our friendship beyond May 15th, Take your hands off the Turkish state.”
Despite geopolitical conflicts, Russia and Turkey have a complex relationship of cooperation in the fields of oil, gas and tourism.
Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have faced each other, most notably in Libya, where Putin is said to have cried for three days after Turkey defeated Erdogan.
But Russia believes that the situation in Kirikudarogur will get worse, perhaps because Russia may seek closer ties with Europe, some say.
European flags have been spotted at rallies in support of Mr. Kirikdaroglu, as the Ataturk party, though not for Erdogan.
close the election
Kirikdaroglu came to our attention in 2021 after Turkey’s central bank issued an order banning the use of Bitcoin in payments.
It wasn’t very clear how much that ended with the central bank and how much with the government’s agency, but some Turkish officials began saying at the time that it could go further.
Eventually Erdogan said that only dictators would ban bitcoin, and that went on, but as we reported at the time, Kirikdaroglu raised the bitcoin flag in the middle. It was my first time.
“Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are the only areas where our billion dollar[unicorn]ventures will emerge,” Curchidalor said.
It’s not clear how much cryptocurrency was featured in the election, but Turkish cryptocurrency experts were in the spotlight at the time, one of whom said:
“I have voted for AKP for 20 years and I will be voting for CHP this election. For my President, my Bitcoin.”
So, nearly two decades after the AKP took control at the crossroads of the world, regime change is becoming a reality.
And if there is such a change this Sunday, at least after the first transition, a new Turkey will be born.
A more Ataturk Turkey, and a more crypto-friendly Turkey, because Europe is very crypto-friendly.
However, President Erdogan has mostly stayed out of our realm, so we don’t care which way the vote goes, but based on some official statements, Mr Kurchidalor is more crypto-friendly. seems to be a target.
