DISINFO: Health problems of Erdoğan, Vučić and others may be the result of US actions
SUMMARY
Foreign rulers disliked by the US become sick more often than they otherwise would. The illnesses of the Turkish and Serbian presidents could have been the consequences of US actions. At times, politicians with an anti-US agenda become ill quickly and tragically. Sometimes they are unable to carry out specific tasks at a critical moment in time due to health problems.
RESPONSE
This is a conspiracy theory which implicates the US in the health problems of foreign leaders. There is no evidence to suggest the US was behind the health problems which Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly suffered recently.
In the weeks and months preceding the presidential election in Turkey, a number of Turkey-related conspiracy theories were spread by pro-Kremlin outlets. The earthquake in Turkey in early 2023 was attributed to a Western plot, whereas one article specifically blamed the US for using “seismic or tectonic weapons” to cause the earthquake.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the US intends to put a "second Zelenskyy" in charge of Turkey, that the US created COVID-19 and biological weapons in Ukraine, and that the war in Ukraine was pre-planned by western strategists back in 2021.