Turkey’s government summoned U.S. Charge d’Affaires Jeffrey Hovenier after the U.S. embassy’s Twitter account “liked” a tweet telling the people of Turkey to prepare for the death of national party leader Devlet Bahceli.
Turkish journalist Ergun Babahan suggested in a tweet that Bahceli, who is reportedly ill, could die soon. Babahan is reportedly wanted in Turkey and is suspected of having ties to a cleric who is alleged to have been behind a failed coup in 2016, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. embassy in Turkey has apologized for “liking” Babahan’s tweet twice, the first apology coming on Saturday and the second on Sunday.
“Earlier today our Embassy Twitter account ‘liked’ an unrelated post in error. We regret the mistake and apologize for any confusion,” the embassy said in its first apology.
Earlier today our Embassy Twitter account “liked” an unrelated post in error. We regret the mistake and apologize for any confusion.
— US Embassy Turkey (@USEmbassyTurkey) October 5, 2019
“We apologize for the mistake that occurred on our Twitter account yesterday. We do not associate ourselves with Ergun Babahan nor do we endorse or agree with the content of his tweet. We reiterate our regret for this error,” the embassy said on Sunday after Turkey’s government summoned Hovenier.
We apologize for the mistake that occurred on our Twitter account yesterday. We do not associate ourselves with Ergun Babahan nor do we endorse or agree with the content of his tweet. We reiterate our regret for this error.
— US Embassy Turkey (@USEmbassyTurkey) October 6, 2019
Bahceli’s national party is allies with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party. Turkey’s opposition party also joined with Turkey’s government in denouncing the tweet as an insult to Turkey’s parliament.
