World Bulletin/News Desk

25 people have been detained for spreading false reports on social media during the Taksim Gezi Park Protests in the city of Izmir.

The Provincial Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM) Branch Directorate teams have stated efforts to question 38 people who spread false reports during the Taksim Gezi Park protests. Out of the 38 people who are to be questioned in the scope of the efforts, 16 people were detained, followed by 9 others. .

It has been indicated the KOM Branch Directorate is still searching for 13 people.

Meanwhile, the relative of the suspects and the Republican Peoples’ Party’s (CHP) provincial leader, Ali Engin, stood in front of the KOM Directorate’s building.

TWITTER PROVOCATIONS 

Some marginal groups who want to further foment the crisis are posting some inaccurate pieces of information or misleading photos on social media sites.

One such photo was posted by Birgün daily columnist Ece Temelkuran. The photo showed the police using pepper spray against demonstrators from a close distance. Temelkuran posted the photo as if it were taken in Turkey but it was actually from Boston.

Another misleading piece of information on social media were rumors that Turkey's Constitutional Court would overthrow the government if the demonstrations lasted for more than 48 hours but there is no such law in Turkey.

There were also untrue claims that the police used Agent Orange against protesters. The use of Agent Orange is banned by the United Nations as it considers it a chemical weapon.

A tweet allegedly posted by Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu saying “You oppose the state and the police and then expect an ambulance to show up” was also found to be fake.

A photo showing a policeman using pepper spray against a dog also turned out to be an act of manipulation on social media as the photo was from Italy, not İstanbul.

Some Twitter users tried to attract the attention of the foreign press by likening Taksim to Egypt's Tahrir Square where the Egyptian revolution had kicked off.

Some users of social media claimed that many people have been killed and injured in the clashes with the police. It is estimated that 5 million misleading tweets have been posted about the Taksim demonstrations.