We're just a couple days passed a Turkish bombing raid on Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq, but the rumor mill on social media hasn't wasted any time getting started after it.
Pro-Kurdish and pro-Turkish users spent the weekend raging against each other on topics spanning everything from who started the aggression to who was really fighting Daesh (ISIS).
Amidst the chaos, there was also this.
Thats insane, rubber bullets fired by Turkish police in Istanbul have AKP logo !! I cant believe it myself. pic.twitter.com/AKJeERaSaG
— Cahit Storm (@cahitstorm) July 26, 2015
On Sunday, images circulated Twitter claiming rubber bullets fired by Turkish authorities in Istanbul's Gazi district bore the logo of Turkey's Party for Justice and Progress, the ruling political party which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a part.
Turkish police are using gas capsules with the government party (AKP) logo.. @cnnbrk @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/1boA0K1FAk
— Tunç Toker (@tunctoker) July 26, 2015AKP are printing their logos on plastic bullets fired by police on protesters in #Turkey. #Twitterkurds pic.twitter.com/eA3kgK6Gux
— @Hevallo (@Hevallo) July 26, 2015Such a powerful message! Brilliant campaign from AKP. pic.twitter.com/e4tqURQy11
— aygen (@merababenaygen) July 26, 2015Turkish police are using gas capsules with the government party (AKP) logo.. @cnnbrk @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/1boA0K1FAk
— Tunç Toker (@tunctoker) July 26, 2015
This rolled through Twitter for a while until someone pointed out that these "rubber bullets" looked awfully familiar...
Bir de şöyle bir iddia var, seçim öncesi çocuklara dağıtılan ışıklı top olduğu da söyleniyor. pic.twitter.com/MqDRgU9DHn
— Kaç Saat Oldu? (@saatoldu) July 26, 2015Translation: Before the elections, there was a claim that said that these balls were distributed to children as lighted balls.
The "rubber bullets" with AKP logos on them are just toys they gave out for elections: https://t.co/mGjNzIfrwJ pic.twitter.com/dMBfAshqtK
— Conflict News (@rConflictNews) July 26, 2015
Turns out, the balls were actually promotional toys handed out by the AKP during the 2014 elections. In their original form, they sit inside a larger ball and light up when shaken. Here's Erdogan throwing them to a rally crowd back then.
