By Ozcan Yildirim
ANKARA
The head of Turkey’s Anadolu Agency has rebuffed claims of “manipulation” of the results of Sunday’s historic referendum, saying that the agency’s data on the election results was consistent with the data of the state’s Supreme Board of Elections (YSK).
"Just like during the last four elections, the data of Anadolu Agency and the YSK also coincided in the referendum, which invalidates a wide range of manipulation claims," Kazanci, the agency’s chairman and director general, said in a written statement Monday.
Kazanci decried the unfair accusations and slander, especially on social media, directed against Anadolu Agency.
"Anadolu Agency, which was founded by Ataturk and this year marked its 97th birthday, of respects criticism made for informational purposes. But the agency will act against insults and slander at the Turkish Supreme Court."
He added, “I am aware that the criticism was influenced by some of the disorienting rumors. The criticisms say that Anadolu Agency started to report in favor of Yes results and sent this information before the YSK to its subscribers for manipulation."
He said that all data from the ballot boxes was transmitted to subscribers immediately without delay, which gave the public the opportunity to get the results as quickly as possible after the polling stations closed.
Anadolu Agency shared the first results with its subscribers with the proviso that they were intended for the internal use of the subscribers only, who were expressly prohibited from publicly reporting results until the conclusion of the Supreme Board of Elections' broadcast ban.
"Anadolu Agency started its open broadcast to the public after the Supreme Board of Elections lifted the broadcast ban," he added.
Defense against cyber-attacks
Kazanci stated that the attacks were not only limited to a smear campaign and social media content-sharing meant to cast a shadow over the agency’s success, but the agency’s technical infrastructure was also targeted.
"However, these attacks were abandoned thanks to the timely measures of Anadolu Agency and its strong technological infrastructure," he said.
"Disinformation campaigns and manipulation claims are part of the global defamation campaign against Turkey. We know who is responsible for carrying out and supporting this ugly campaign, and the culprits will be held accountable to the law,” he pledged.
“I am proud to say that with these measures, terrorist organizations were unable to prevent the Turkish people from getting election results and news from the field. Defamation attempts have not been able to overshadow the success of Anadolu Agency," he added.
Kazanci said that the April 16 referendum turned into a "celebration of democracy" with a voter turnout of 85.30 percent.
Kazanci thanked all Anadolu Agency employees for their sacrifice during the referendum. The agency employed extra reporters, editors, and technical staff to cover the polls, he said, adding that it also fended off "intense" cyber-attacks.
Anadolu Agency covered Turkey's nationwide constitutional referendum in a special broadcast program -- Referendum 2017 -- on Sunday.
The agency instantly broadcast unofficial referendum results to its subscribers -- 27 media organizations and 70 local TV channels -- as the results came in from around Turkey and polls abroad.
After the Supreme Board of Elections (YSK) lifted the broadcast ban on election results at 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the results were transmitted in the agency's 11 broadcast languages on a special election website, secim.aa.com.tr.
