CNN Türk caught spreading fake news about PKK Kurdish fighters operating in Artsakh

This article was originally published on Greek City Times on 3 October 2020. The original can be found here. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of SyriacPress.

By Paul Antonopoulos

CNN already has a less than impressive reputation in the United States, but the fake news of CNN Türk takes it to the next level, especially as they were caught out blatantly lying about Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters operating alongside the Armenian soldiers in Artsakh.

CNN Türk published footage that alleged the PKK were fighting alongside the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) that Turkey and Azerbaijan considers a “terrorist organization.”

However, there was only one problem with their claim.

The orange-blue-red tricolour flag seen on the left in the below photo actually belongs to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC), hence a map of Colombia on the flag, and not that of ASALA as CNN Türk lied about.

“‘PKK fighting alongside Armenian ASALA terrorists in Artsakh’. Seems that someone has to teach those ignorants that this is the flag of the Colombian FARC movement and not the Armenian flag. Colombian flag turned backward becomes an Armenian flag,” one Twitter user highlighted.

#CNNTurk publishes footage of "#PKK fighting alongside Armenian #ASALA terrorists in #Artsakh".Seems that someone has to teach those ignorants that this is the flag of the #Colombian #FARC movement and not the Armenian flag. Colombflag turned backward becomes an #Armenianflag😂 pic.twitter.com/05n2Ylqrrx

— مركز الإعلام (@JokerDoasAlzlma) October 3, 2020

Turkey and Azerbaijan also recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization and often claims that they are based in Artsakh too, without providing evidence.

It is likely Turkey is persisting with this fake news that the PKK are fighting in Artsakh so that they could justify a direct intervention as they did in Syria and Iraq under these pretenses.

In fact, the news is so fake that it was discovered to have been originally taken in 2014.

Turkey is one of the lowest ranked countries for media freedoms in the world, is the second most susceptible country surveyed on the European continent and its surrounds to fake news, has the most journalists jailed in the whole world, and 90% of media is government controlled.