Credit: NVIDIA Corporation/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Elon Musk’s Constantinople Tweet Upsets Turkish Social Media Users
A tweet by Elon Musk on the fall of Constantinople has baffled social media users worldwide and has caused hundreds of predominantly negative reactions in Turkey.
The Tesla founder and billionaire tweeted a meme of a Byzantine soldier who is in bed thinking to himself whether he “locked the gate” and under the image: 1453 Constantinople.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2022
The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks. The city fell to the forces led by the Ottoman Turkish Sultan, Mohammed (Mehmet) II on 29 May 1453.
The invading Ottomans defeated the army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos after a 53-day siege.
Turks annoyed by Elon Musk’s tweet on Constantinople fall
Musk’s cryptic tweet has puzzled many, with Turkish users asking themselves whether it was a positive or negative tweet? Or why did Musk refer to the date the city fell? Or why didn’t he call it Istanbul?
Here are some replies from Turkish users:
“Elon Musk refers to the ‘Open Forgotten Door’ legend in his tweet about the conquest of Istanbul. Open door rumors have nothing to do with reality. It was issued to get over the shock of the conquest and to belittle the city’s fall into the hands of the Turks,” says a Twitter user.
“Istanbul is ours forever. Those who make calculations on the territory of the Republic of Turkey pay the price. We will not let anyone eat these lands. We don’t lock the door. Those who commit traitors on Istanbul, these lands will be your grave. Istanbul is our love.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2022
“We didn’t open the door and enter bro. We broke down the door and entered. So the lock doesn’t matter :)”
“Elon, before you go to bed make sure that your gate is closed. Otherwise, we will come again in like 1453.”
“You may have locked the door, but when it comes to Turks, there is not much you can do.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2022
A more measured response came from a Turkish user who simply said: “The man made a joke, and those with low IQ immediately produced a conspiracy theory.”
Meanwhile, a Greek user said: “Hey @elonmusk I applaud you! The simplest tweet with just a photo and thousands of Turkish nationalistic bots who litter Twitter are exposed underneath, all with their zero followers, while trying to answer! A brilliant way to clear the platform fast. Kudos.”
SOURCE: https://greekreporter.com/2022/06/18/elon-musk-constantinople-tweet/