Turkish politics get dirtier as dog framed for pooping on train
Boji, the stray dog that has captured hearts riding trains across Istanbul, has become the target of a smear campaign in the most literal sense.
IZMIR, Turkey — Boji, the canine commuter who has captured the hearts of the public through videos and pictures as he navigates Istanbul’s public transportation system, has become the target of a defamation campaign pitting Istanbul’s opposition-run municipality against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
In Turkey’s polarized climate, everything from dead poets to domestic violence can be recruited for political conflict. The most recent controversy, however, was surprising even by Turkish standards: It's over dog poop.
The Boji Conspiracy, as Turkish columnists are calling it, started on Nov. 19 when a social media user posted a photo of dog feces on the tramway, claiming that it had been left by Boji. “Boji, on the payroll of Istanbul Municipality, shat in the tramway,” tweeted the pro-AKP blog Sagdan Haber (“News From the Right”), which spews a steady stream of critiques targeting Ekrem Imamoglu, the city’s mayor from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a possible candidate for the 2023 presidential elections.
İBB'nin kadrolu köpeği BOJİ tramvaya pisledi. pic.twitter.com/kqViWUhtFs
