British media launched a smear campaign against Turkey, alleging that gowns Turkish government sent did not meet UK standards on May 6. Almost all British media outlets posted concerning news about the allegation. However, UK’s ambassador to Ankara Dominick Chilcott denied claims via his twitter account. Chilcott stated that
“Stories in the UK media that 400K items of PPE sent from Turkey are unusable are untrue. A small number of gowns from a private supplier have failed tests. But more gowns from that supplier have passed tests and are suitable for use in the NHS.
The #UK government remains very grateful to the #Turkish government for its support of the UK’s requirements for PPE.”
Stories in the UK media that 400K items of PPE sent from Turkey are unusable are untrue. A small number of gowns from a private supplier have failed tests. But more gowns from that supplier have passed tests and are suitable for use in the NHS.
— Dominick Chilcott (@DChilcottFCO) May 7, 2020
However, anti-Turkey news had already went viral before ambassador’s statement.
This is not the first time that British media insults Turkey since the beginning of Corona Pandemic. The Guardian and BBC had used photos of disinfection processes of Turkish mosques for their posts about the US and Canada. BBC Turkish channel had also made exaggerative predictions about fatalities and cases of covid-19, none of which came true.
Some Turkish social media users furiously reacted British media, reminding that all medical supplies were donated. They expressed their surprise against demonizing news. Some others requested government not to respond to new calls for help.
