Is it true that some Western countries evacuated their ambassadors from Turkey 24 hours before the earthquake?

A version was widely circulated on social networks according to which the authorities of Western countries knew about the impending earthquake in Turkey and therefore evacuated their diplomats. We decided to check whether this version is true.

The version about the non-accidental evacuation of Western embassies from Turkey began to spread after being recorded in Twitter renowned conspiracy theorist David Wolfe. His post was viewed more than 2 million times, and the tweet was shared by more than 8,000 people. This theory did not go viral on Russian social networks, but there are traces of it in “VKontakte" Much more dispersed adjacent version about an earthquake provoked by an American tectonic weapon.

David Wolf's tweet lists the countries that recalled their ambassadors 24 hours before the earthquake: Canada, USA, UK, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, France. “Nothing suspicious,” Wolfe notes sarcastically.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred on the night of February 5-6 in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. In Turkey died almost 46,000 people, in Syria - almost 9000. The earthquake occurred in a seismic area, at the junction of three tectonic plates. Scientists quickly responded to conspiracy theories about deliberate external influence on nature and categorically rejected their.

AFP fact-checking service requested comments from all embassies mentioned in the conspiracy tweet. Responses were received from six of them (except the USA and Great Britain): the ambassadors were in the capital of Turkey, Ankara, during the earthquake. In addition, some diplomats appeared at official events shortly before the tragedy. Ambassador of France Hervé Magro met with representatives of the Turkish-French Friendship Society, and the Ambassador of the Netherlands Joop Wijnands — with former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Due to the fact that the US and UK did not respond to the request, AFP had to independently establish an “alibi” for the ambassadors of these two countries. On February 6, a few hours after the earthquake (while tremors were still ongoing), US Ambassador Jeff Flake published a Instagram photo of a flagpole with a flag at half-staff in the courtyard of the American diplomatic mission. The photo was taken in Ankara and published there.

And the next day, the US Ambassador to Turkey went from his office via Skype to CNN broadcast.

British Ambassador Jill Morris wrote on Twitter about the earthquake early in the morning on February 6, the day of the tragedy. She was not so active on social networks, but on February 13 appeared her photo, where the ambassador is collecting humanitarian aid for the victims.

Apparently, the conspiracy theory is connected to a completely different event, namely the closure of several consulates in Istanbul. 2 February Ambassadors of nine countries (USA, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, UK, Germany, Belgium, France and Italy) called to the Turkish Foreign Ministry in connection with the temporary closure of the consulates of these states. The decision to temporarily close the country's diplomatic missions was explained by the high risk of a terrorist threat. And the threat was associated with a possible response to burning Koran in Sweden. Türkiye saw the closure of consulates as political blackmail: so, in any case, spoke President of the Republic Recep Erdogan.

Thus, there are many inconsistencies in the conspiracy theory linking the evacuation of embassies and the earthquake. Firstly, it was not the embassies that were closed, but the consulates. Secondly, nine diplomatic missions were closed, and it is not clear why the author of the scandalous tweet forgot about Sweden and Switzerland, while adding Canada. Thirdly, Istanbul, where the consulates are located, is much further from the earthquake zone than Ankara, where the ambassadors continued to work. Finally, there is evidence that the US and British ambassadors remained in Turkey. But there are no arguments confirming the evacuation.

Cover photo: social networks

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. AFP. Ambassadors evacuated from Turkey before quake?
2. Are there tectonic weapons that can cause earthquakes?
3. Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: checking 8 photos and videos