Reactionary people celebrating strong earthquake in Turkey, Greece

Reactionary people in Turkey posted celebratory messages on social media over the strong earthquake that shook holiday resorts in Turkey and Greece
Friday, 21 July 2017 21:00

A powerful overnight earthquake shook holiday resorts in Greece and Turkey, injuring nearly 500 people and leaving two tourists dead on the Greek island of Kos, where revellers at a bar were crushed in a building collapse. In Turkey, authorities said some 350 people were hurt, most with light injuries as they fled buildings. 

After the earthquake, several reactionary messages were posted from social media accounts that got reactions from many. One of the messages targeted the people living in the region by labelling them as "secular dogs", as the coastal cities of Aegean region could not be dominated by the ruling AKP party in elections and a dominant portion of the population is actually anti-AKP. The message revealed the account holder’s happiness over the earthquake that showed the "God’s justice". The other messages also targeted the locals and vacationers in Bodrum, one of the most preferred tourist towns, by posting that "no natural disaster would clean the sins committed in Bodrum".

One of these social media accounts also started a survey asking which coastal city the next earthquake will hit.

The same reactions were made by Islamist sections of the population after the 1999 earthquake that hit İstanbul area and killed 20 thousand people. A banner saying that “Isn’t 7.4 enough for you?” (referring to the intensity of the 1999 earthquake) sparked a big debate. The banner also targeted the population killed and affected badly by the strong earthquake with the "accusation" of being nonbelievers.