Ministers of foreign affairs are, generally, treated as officials tasked to perform the act of realpolitik. Therefore, they are presumably exempt from paranoid behavior that many politicians may display. However, one such minister of foreign affairs, Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, who was until recently considered to be a skilled realpolitik actor, demonstrated that he is not an exception to paranoia that is spreading like wildfire among the Turkish leaders that Turkey is targeted by an international — i.e., Western — conspiracy.

Only a day after the US-based watchdog Freedom House, in its "Freedom of the Press 2014" report that was released May 1, relegated Turkey from the league of “partly free” countries to the league of “not free” countries, Davutoglu exploded. Speaking at a joint news conference with Omani Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah in Ankara on May 2, he said, “No one can put Turkey in that category. All kinds of opinions are openly voiced in Turkey. In this sense, the press freedom in Turkey is freer than some countries called 'partly free.'”

If he had left it there, there would be no problem. But, he urged Turkish reporters to act against the Freedom House report: “I’m calling on the press and the intellectuals to display a stance against this report. We expect our journalists to reject this report,” he said, and alleged that “a perception operation is being conducted against Turkey.”

The term “perception operation” is increasingly used by government officials and pro-government media to describe an alleged smear campaign underway against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of Turkey.