Disinfo: Turkey may introduce ISIS members in the EU for terrorist attacks at Christmas

Summary

Former MI6 member Aimen Dean told the Daily Mail that ISIS decided to respond to the EU’s challenge, and its leaders are training militants in Syria and Libya. Afterwards, the plan is to send them to Europe through Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. Through its agreements with the illegitimate Government of National Accord, Turkey is constantly transferring military equipment, ammunition and radical Islamists from Syria and Libya to strength the GNA forces, whose Coast Guard supervises the refugee ships and regulates its flux towards the EU. As a consequence, there may be ISIS terrorists among the passengers of those ships. Is is possible to think that jihadists have infiltrated the territory of France, Germany and UK already since a long time. Those terrorists may take advantage of the relaxation of the restrictive measures against Covid-19 during Christmas. In those celebrations, Europeans will be able to move freely in the streets and gather in squares. Those crowds will become the main target of the jihadists.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory not supported by any evidence. Though it is true that former MI6 member Aimen Dean warned of the possibility of ISIS attacks in European countries during Christmas during a security conference in London, which was covered by the Daily Mail, and he said that they could reach Europe through Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea, there was no mention to any Turkish participation in this scheme. The story was deliberately distorted to support pro-Kremlin narratives in Libya, where Turkey has been opposed to Russia’s interests. Contrary to the claim, the Government of National Accord is not illegitimate but recognised by the United Nations.

See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that British MI6 is behind Turkey’s actions in Karabakh; that after Karabakh, Turkey will take over Crimea; that if Georgia joins NATO, its territory will be annexed by Turkey; that the Turkish-Greek crisis took NATO to its limits; or that Erdogan’s task is to make the South Caucasus to explode for NATO to invade the region.

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  • Reported in: Issue 224
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04/12/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Spanish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, Libya, UK, Turkey
  • Keywords: coronavirus, Islamic extremism, Christmas, Terrorism
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All the statements of Ukrainian politicians that they were promised that Ukraine will be accepted into the Alliance are PR and nothing more. For NATO countries, Ukraine is important as a buffer zone, but not as a member of the Alliance.

Dec 03, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about Ukraine and its cooperation with NATO.

Ukraine is a strategic partner for NATO in many areas. Since the 1990s, relations between NATO and Ukraine have developed into one of NATO’s most influential partnerships. Relations were strengthened with the signing of the 1997 Charter on a Distinctive Partnership, which established the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC). The Declaration of 2009 to Complement the NATO-Ukraine Charter mandated the NUC, through Ukraine’s Annual National Programme, to underpin Ukraine’s efforts to take forward reforms aimed at implementing Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

Disinfo: EU bureaucrats want to limit the use of Christmas symbols

The bureaucrats of the European Union have declared that a large number of Christian symbols on the streets and various offices might hurt the feelings of refugees and migrants from the Middle East. Thus, there is a need to limit the use of such symbols. /…/ In Brussels, the main Christmas tree has been replaced with an LED-construction, representing the “Winter holidays”

Dec 03, 2020
Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative, forwarding hostile narratives on migrants, threatening Christmas and New Years Eve traditions, and about the decline of Christianity in Europe.

Neither has “EU Bureacrats” declared a limitation on the use of Christian symbols, nor has Brussels forbidden the Christmas tree (a symbol, without relation to Christianity). The Brussels Christmas tree of 2020 can be observed here on webcam. Municipal authorities in Brussels and most other Belgian and European cities have cancelled Christmas markets due to the COVID-19.

Disinfo: Italian town forbids Christmas carols not to insult migrants

In the Italian town of Rozzano near Milan, the headmaster of a school forbade a Christmas concert and suggested that Christmas should be observed without the traditional carols, as migrant children previous years during singing stood silently along the walls. In German Eschweiler tolling church bells were forbidden when migrants approached the municipal authorities with a request to cancel sounds that were foreign to them. Schools in Spain and Italy removed the crucifixes from the walls of the same reasons.

Dec 03, 2020
Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative, forwarding hostile narratives on migrants, threatening Christmas and New Years Eve traditions, and about the decline of Christianity in Europe.

Several of the cases, mentioned in the article, belong to a collection of anti-migrant “urban legends” that are circulated in European right wing media. The case from Rozzano has been debunked several times, since it appeared in 2015. The case from German Eschweiler seems to be entirely fiction. Connecting claims to concrete, small places far away serves to lend a tone of authenticity to the disinformation.