37 detained over provocative social media posts on Imamoglu case: Interior Minister

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya Thursday announced that authorities have identified and taken action against provocative social media posts related to recent operations targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Out of 261 identified suspects, 37 have been detained.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was taken into custody as part of an investigation into allegations of terrorism, corruption, and bribery.

Along with Imamoglu, several Istanbul municipality officials and business figures were also brought in for questioning.

Following these developments, authorities detected misinformation and provocative posts on social media regarding the investigation, prompting a separate probe into online activity.

261 suspects identified

Providing details on the investigation, Minister Yerlikaya stated, “After the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention orders for 106 suspects, including the Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor, certain social media accounts were found to be sharing provocative content categorized as ‘incitement to hatred and hostility’ and ‘provocation to commit crimes.'”

“261 account holders have been identified, including 62 based abroad. Following coordinated efforts by the Cyber Crimes Department and Security Directorate, 37 suspects have been apprehended, while operations to locate the remaining individuals are ongoing.”

Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya

34% of posts linked to bot accounts

Authorities reported that between the time of the detentions and 06:00 AM on March 20, 2025, 18,647,269 posts related to the case were shared on Twitter (X). Investigations revealed that 66% of these posts originated from personal accounts, while bot accounts generated 34%.

Minister Yerlikaya emphasized that Türkiye’s Cyber Crimes Department continues to conduct 24/7 online surveillance to combat cybercrime and prevent the spread of misinformation.