Fake Letter Attributing to Turkey Tourism, Urging Indians to Visit Goes Viral

A fake letter is going viral on social media to claim that Turkey tourism ministry is urging Indians to 'not cancel their travel plans'.

(Photo: The Quint)

A letter is being attributed to Turkey tourism ministry which urges Indians not to cancel their plan to visit Turkey following the country's support to Pakistan.

The letter also features the Turkish flag and the words “Kamu Duyurusu” (public notice or announcement), and reads, "A vast majority of the local population is unaware of the conflict taking place between India and Pakistan and it has no bearing on daily life or the tourism environment here. "

• It adds that “there are no restrictions or safety issues affecting Indian guests.”

Who shared it?: Several news outlets including Economic Times, Financial Express, News18, Business Today, Zee News and OpIndia, published reports , citing these social media claims.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala President Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also posted this letter on X (formerly Twitter).

An archive can be seen here.

An archive can be seen here.

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism ministry confirmed to us that they have not released any such letter.

How did we find out the truth?: We checked official social media handles and websites of the Turkish government, including the ministry of culture and tourism, The ministry of foreign affairs and the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

• However, we found no such announcement or letter.

• We then found a post on X shared by Turkey-based fact-checking organisation, Malumatfurus, who in collaboration with Alt News had called the viral letter 'fake.

• It read, "Social media users from India have started sharing a false public announcement image claiming that the Ministry of Tourism has issued a public announcement specifically for Indian tourists following the tension between their country and Pakistan."

• We have reached out to the ministry of culture and tourism, Turkey, and the story will be updated once we receive a response.

We reached out to Teyit, a Turkish fact-checking organization: Beşire Korkmaz, Editor at Teyit told us that this letter is fake.

• "No verifiable evidence supports the claim that this photo shows an official document issued by the authorities," she adds.

• She further adds that that rhe text in the image does not give the impression of being an official document or announcement and is 'inconsistent'.

"Additionally, the overall design and layout of the document do not resemble those typically issued by official institutions. When looking at the official announcements of the Ministry, the discrepancies in the document can also be observed," Korkmaz adds.

• It is also important to note that the official name of the tourism authority in Turkey is not "Department of Tourism" as mentioned in the viral letter. The correct designation is "Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism", who have made no such announcement.

• Additionally, we have also reached out to the Ministry or Culture and Tourism and the story will be updated once we receive a response.

Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism ministry also confirmed to us that they have not released any such letter.

Conclusion: A fake letter is going viral on social media to claim that Turkey tourism ministry is urging Indians to 'not cancel their travel plans'.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)