Twitter Post of Ümit Özdağ

Incident Information 

Date of Incident: January 8, 2023

Location of Incident: Turkey

Identifying information of Perpetrator: Ümit Özdağ, Chairman of Zafer Party

Source: https://twitter.com/umitozdag/status/1612085785636868096

Hate Speech Analysis

Transcription of hate speech statement: “Zekeriya FETO scoundrel, Turcophobic murderer. We know who you / FETO scoundrel spies are working for. You are a member of the last Crusader army. Former partner of AKP Party, soldier murderer, you shamelessly slander as in Ergenekon indictments. Drown in the blood of the officers you martyred.”

Target group(s) of hate speech: Zekeriya Öz and members of the Gülen (Hizmet) Movement

Justification of hate speech: Ümit Özdağ and his party, the Zafer Party, hold a strong political stance against the Gülen movement and its members

Analysis of the hate speech statement: The statement uses highly pejorative and dehumanizing language to attack Zekeriya Öz, calling him a “FETO scoundrel” and “Turcophobic murderer” and implying that he is a member of a “last Crusader army” and a “soldier murderer”. This type of language implies that Zekeriya Öz and the members of the Gülen movement are not legitimate, and portrays the movement as a criminal and violent organization. It also implies that Zekeriya Öz is responsible for the deaths of officers, which is not true. This can contribute to further stigmatization and marginalization of Zekeriya Öz and people perceived to be members of the Gülen movement, and can also fuel discrimination and violence against them. Additionally, the statement also implies that Zekeriya Öz is a “FETO scoundrel spy” and a “Former partner of AKP Party” and “shamelessly slander as in Ergenekon indictments”. This can be considered as defamatory and can damage the reputation of Zekeriya Öz.

Contextual information: The statement was made in response to a tweet that has not been verified as true. There is no evidence that Zekeriya Öz made the statement that Ümit Özdağ is responding to.

Impact of the statement: It can contribute to further stigmatization, marginalization, and defamation of Zekeriya Öz as well as members of Gülen movement, and can also fuel discrimination and violence against them.

Conclusion

The statement made by Ümit Özdağ, Chairman of Zafer Party, can be considered as hate speech as it is demonizing, dehumanizing, defamatory and stigmatizing towards Zekeriya Öz and implies that he is a member of a criminal and violent organization, responsible for the deaths of officers, which is not true. The statement also implies that Zekeriya Öz is a “FETO scoundrel spy” and a “Former partner of AKP Party” and “shamelessly slander as in Ergenekon indictments” which is also not true. This can contribute to further stigmatization, marginalization, and defamation of Zekeriya Öz, and can also fuel discrimination and violence against him. Additionally, the statement is made in response to a tweet that has not been verified as true.