Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan attended the International Strategic Communication Summit held in Istanbul's Şişli district on Friday.
Addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict, Fahrettin Altun stated, "Since October 7, Israel has killed 64 media professionals in the Gaza Strip. Israel, during this period, has been employing a fascist propaganda method, not only killing journalists, healthcare workers, women, and children but also suppressing the truth."
Organized under the coordination of the Presidential Communications Directorate, the event covered various topics, including hybrid threats in strategic communication, global developments in strategic communication, technological innovations, international communication, communication security, combating disinformation, and the communication ecosystem.
Before their speeches, Fidan and Altun examined the stands of media, communication, and technology companies present at the venue, as well as a robot dog showcased in the entrance section of the event.
Video messages from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Melissa Fleming, the Head of the United Nations Global Communications Department, were also broadcasted during the summit. Altun and Fidan delivered the opening speeches.
"As interdependencies deepen in inter-societal relations, crises, threats, and problems are becoming globalized. In this environment, a new challenge has been added to conventional conflicts and global crises. This new challenge is called hybrid threats, targeting all world societies. When we talk about hybrid threats, we refer to new methods of competition, struggle, and warfare in the contemporary world. Hybrid threats include elements of conventional conflicts, irregular actions, and asymmetrical threats. It is a threat type that blends traditional and institutional tools, concepts, and methods. This threat cannot be resisted by traditional and institutional means. Hybrid threats involve strategies and tactics aimed at maliciously manipulating political decision-making mechanisms, security architecture, social unity, cultural existence, and communication processes. We are talking about a threat that mixes traditional and institutional actions and methods." Erdoğan aide stressed in his speech while emphasizing the need to reform national security and defense mechanisms and develop flexible and versatile strategies to counter hybrid threats.
Altun added, "The Israeli army, to reinforce its colonial narratives, sends sets of concepts and dictionaries to media companies in the West to use in their news, imposing supposedly correct wrong metrics. On the other hand, Israel mercilessly kills journalists in Gaza. Since October 7, Israel has killed 64 media professionals in the Gaza Strip. Israel, during this period, has been employing a fascist propaganda method, not only killing journalists, healthcare workers, women, and children but also manipulating the truth."
