A 1920s photo of two Black men embracing, part of a collection on homosexual African American men, was altered by social media users in Greece to falsely claim it depicted Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. These false claims targeting the emblematic figure in Turkey’s history spread in March 2025, shortly after cadets from a navy training school in neighbouring Greece chanted an anti-Turkish slogan during an Independence Day parade. However, the image was altered to include Ataturk's face, leading to a wave of insulting and homophobic comments. AFP traced the photo's origin, which was verified by two independent sources.

This X post from March 28, 2025, posted an image of two men, with the one embracing the other and implied in the caption in insulting and homophobic language that the photo depicted Kemal Ataturk and proved he was gay. The post was shared more than 100 times.

The same claim, accompanied by the image in both color and black and white, was shared by other users on Facebook (here, here and here) and X (here and here).

While some users claim the photo is fake or AI-generated, many others posted insulting and homophobic comments about the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, being gay. "The killer in garters," is one of many such comments.

The image circulated in Greece just days after Greek Independence Day on March 25. During the military parade, cadets from the Hellenic Navy Petty Officers School ...

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