The post, shared on social media and sent to Teyit, claimed that a Spanishcaricaturistillustratedthe fighting ofTurkeyagainstthe newcoronavirus. The illustration demonstrates a soldier protecting people in war and a doctor fighting against the new coronavirus and has a Turkish flag on it. The claim, shared on Twitter, got more than 400 retweets and more than 2,000 likes.
Iranian artist Alireza Pakdel has made many illustrations showing health officials fighting against the new coronavirus (COVID-19). One of them is the illustration in the claim. The artist has shared his drawings about the struggle with the virus on his Instagram account (@alirezapakdel_artist) since the beginning of March. The illustration in the claim was shared by the caption of “Homeland Guards” on Instagram. There is not any national flag in the original version.
Pakdel has shared more than 40 drawings so far and represented health officials as heroes who are saving people from the virus.
For example, in one of his works, he painted health officials breaking the handcuffs in the virus form. In the other, he drew challenging labyrinths they must go through. He emphasized the difficulty of the struggle given by health officials and the importance of solidarity.
Drawings show police and firefighters as well as health officials.
The drawingaboutthe virusby Iranian artist was reported on manyforeignwebsites andin Turkey.
Alireza Pakdel, with many international awards, got the World Press Caricature Grand Prize in 2017 with his work, “Immigrants”.
In conclusion, the claim that a Spanish caricaturist drew the struggle of Turkey with the new coronavirus is not true. The illustration was created by Iranian artist Alireza Pakdel to emphasize the fight against the virus. There is not Turkish flag in its original version. The post in question is an example of manipulated and misleading content.
