A verified account on X (formerly Twitter) carrying the name of Esra Erdogan, a self-described “rights activist” who coincidentally shares the name of Turkish President Erdogan’s daughter, attempted to flatter South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for his country’s decision to bring Israel to the International Court of Justice but ended up causing upheaval for the bigoted wording she chose.
In her tweet in Arabic, published Saturday at 6:10 AM, Erdogan wrote, “Black in color.. White in Heart”, along with a white heart and South African flag emojis. The tweet gained 1.7 million views despite the original writer having only 131 thousand followers.
A “white heart” appears in Islamic traditions as well as in popular culture in the Middle East as one that is pure and immune to temptations, which was presumably Erdogan’s intention in her controversial publication. However, the contrast made between a pure “white” heart and the South African President’s skin color did not escape the readers’ attention.
User Idriss Ayat, a Kuwaiti resident apparently originating in Niger, commented in a post viewed by almost 550 thousand users:
Is this post racist?
“This phrase is a type of ‘verbal racism’. Inwardly there is a condemnation of blackness, as if his [Ramaphosa’s] blackness, which God created him with, is bad; while the whiteness of his heart covers up for this badness! Let’s repeat it: White does not indicate cleanliness, and black does not indicate filth. The purest and most impeccable thing is the Kaaba (the black stone in the center of the holiest Muslim site of Mecca, OM) with its black covering. Cleanse your hearts first, and then look at the color!”
A user named Arab Against Antisemitism also condemned the post, questioning: “He's ‘black but kind-hearted on the inside?’ What kind of disgusting racist language is this? Individual characteristics, values, and behaviors are not determined by skin color; you racist.”
Another denunciation came from Saudi Arabian therapist Nawal Al-Hawasai, who commented: “Shameful. What is worse than ignorance and error is the persistence and perseverance of racism, which stems from arrogance and condescending. (you should) be ashamed of yourself and delete your tweet”.
Regardless, Erdogan insisted there was nothing wrong with her tweet, responding: “What's wrong with it? I see comments criticizing the tweet a lot [as if] it is understood as racism. We are all one, and there is no difference between a foreign and an Arab. All love and respect for you,” while in another instance, Erdogan replied to a user calling her to “remain silent” with the casual: “What’s the matter?”
Later on, Erdogan even proceeded to retweet herself twice - once verbatim, and once with an added accusation reading: “Those who call for false freedom and false democracy are themselves fighting the black race‼️ All love and respect to the president of South Africa”.
It’s worth mentioning that this same account also caused an uproar in neighboring Greece during the May 2023 elections in Turkey, when Ellada 24 news reported about a provocation from “Erdogan’s daughter”, as she tweeted: “In just a few minutes, the Islamic crescent will break a century of the Western cross”.
What is the legitimacy of the post?
However, some users doubted whether the said account actually belonged to the daughter of the Turkish leader.
Doubters pointed out that such proficiency in Arabic cannot be expected from a native Turkish speaker, while others pointed out the fact that Esra (or Isra’) is a common Muslim name and that the profile picture used by the account hardly resembles other pictures of the Turkish leader’s daughter found online.
Incidentally, roughly 14 hours after the publication of the original post, the Turkish Directorate of Communications Center for Countering Disinformation, an official function under the Republic’s Presidency, published an official statement on their website decrying “Israel’s disinformation” and claiming that pro-Israel “propaganda” accounts are “trying to manipulate public opinion by using the resemblance in the name of a social media user”; also denying that the account belongs to Esra Albayrak (Esra’s married name), and rejecting the notion that the content can be perceived as racist.
A quick look at this account, which is adorned by a “blue check” following its verification by X since January 2024, shows that it was launched in June 2022, presumably following a deletion of an older account.
The account features a great deal of pro-Erdogan content, including footage of the Turkish leader as a father figure of the Turkish Republic, sometimes even referring to him as “leader of the Islamic ummah (nation)”. However, no reference to any family relations with President Erdogan is apparent, except for a vague mention of “the honorable (Erdogan) family” while commenting to a user who posted a picture of the Erdogans.
On other occasions, the profile provides some alleged personal context and opinions. For example, during the time leading up to the 2023 Turkish elections, the account posted a picture of several women wearing Hijab adding: “I am a Turkish Muslim and I will register my vote for leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan from dear Istanbul”.
Additionally, the account’s own cover photo portrays a scene from Esra Erdogan’s wedding.
So does this verified account really belong to a member of the Erdogan family? Is it a fake profile impersonating an Erdogan family member in order to garner “grassroots” sympathy for the Turkish leader in Arabic-speaking spheres? Is it a honeypot for anti-Erdogan users, or maybe even a troll account?
Whatever it may be, and regardless of the questions raised by the family’s cover picture and verification by X - it appears that the circulation of this post on social media caused a large impact, ultimately leading the Turkish authorities to publicly disavow the account, all the while imperviously - and very much similarly to the original post - remaining oblivious to the fact that the content can be deemed as racist.