Turkish network SETA busted, operated by Muslim Brotherhood to spread fake news, reports

Amira Al-Sherif

The terrorist Brotherhood around the world used to create a media or legal loophole through which it transmits its poisons to the public opinion and falsely polishes its image in front of the world.

The group has also been keen, through its electronic committees, to take advantage of all means, especially social media, to spread lies and rumors and cover for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s violations.

In January 2020, the Egyptian National Security Sector was able to locate and seal down an apartment in Bab Al-Louk neighborhood in downtown Cairo, for operating undercover and without a license under the name of SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research.

SETA was mostly being operated by Muslim Brotherhood members and completely funded by Ankara to broadcast and prepare negative reports containing false and fabricated information on the political, economic, security and legal conditions in the country and send it to Turkey, with the aim of tarnishing the country’s image internally and internationally.

Four individuals, including three Egyptians and a Turkish citizen, were arrested after the raid while a fifth one, believed to be Turkish, is still on the run.

This suspicious SETA has been operating since 2005 under a banner reading “The Center for Political, Economic and Social Studies”, and its stated goal is to help the Turkish government analyze and understand issues related to Turkish foreign policy and other foreign policies of other countries.

Suspicions revolve around SETA of spying on the countries of the region, as the Turkish Journalists Association affirmed earlier that this center is preparing reports in cooperation with Turkish intelligence.

The SETA center is one of the largest centers and has several branches, its main headquarters is in Ankara and it has two large branches in Istanbul and Washington.

It is pertinent to mention that SETA insisted on defending the terrorists who were involved in the assassination of Egypt’s public prosecutor Hisham Barakat in February 2019, describing their execution sentences as a cold-blooded murder.

As for the Arabic section of SETA, it is constantly publishing erroneous reports regarding the Egyptian state with an aim to sow discord and hatred among Egyptians.

SETA’s team has many nationalities, including Belgium, Syria and Lebanon, as its official symbol is a pen head with a chess pawn, indicating that the foundation aims at manipulating the political scene using words.

Another SETA-affiliated platform that is also being used by  Turkey in the Middle East is Rouya Turkiyyah, which publishes analyses and reports that only aim at justifying any violations by the Turkish regime or Erdogan in the east Mediterranean, claiming that such violations are only precautions to protect Turkey’s safety and resources.

Security authorities are exerting huge efforts and serious steps to fight these entities and their devious schemes that only aims at achieving Turkey’s ambitions in the region.