On 12 December 2016, The Independent released a news story on the attack that took place around a stadium in the largest city of Turkey, Istanbul. However, the story contains several inaccuracies.

Firstly, the headline of the story read “Turkey: 235 people arrested over 'Kurdish militant propaganda', Turkish Interior Ministry says” but the ministry said these 235 people were detained, not arrested. Legal procedures are on-going at the moment.

The Independent furthermore headlined the story on its Twitter feed under the title “Turkey just arrested 235 people,” without providing the reason of the falsely reported legal action, presenting an image which suggests that people are arrested in Turkey arbitrarily.

Secondly, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is the parent organization of the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) that conducted the double bombings in Istanbul on 10 December 2016, was described solely as “an organization that is outlawed in Turkey.”

However, the fact that the PKK was outlawed and listed as terrorist not only by Turkey but also by the US, the EU and NATO went unmentioned in the story.

Finally, The Independent addressed the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Konya deputy Ahmet Davutoglu as “Turkish prime minister” whereas the current prime minister of Turkey is Binali Yildirim since last May.