We are facing a “situation” that can be termed as the “post-truth era.” It can be described as “post-reality,” “post-truth,” and explains the institutionalization of deception.

Personally, I see this as fiction taking precedence over fact, veiling the truth and it being consciously done. I see it as humanity’s condemnation of a “collective deception ritual.”

This is the popularization of a new religion, faith that prioritizes fiction instead of fact, image instead of what is right. It is a fatal global epidemic that detaches humankind from its own reality, the reality of its existence, and appears to have its mind set on completely destroying humanity’s legacy.

This is not about the “white lies,” the everyday lies, the ordinary lies that have existed since the birth of humanity. This is just one of the tendencies of the human race. It has always existed and will continue to do so.

However, lying, which has been one of humanity’s greatest weaknesses since Adam, is being turned in the 21st century into a belief form, an identity model, a social formatting system, a political discourse and project.

A new ideology is being presented to the age in which ideologies are said to have diminished, as a global project “imposed on the masses” is being revealed. Preparations are made targeting staggering results, or even destruction, in politics, culture, religion, identity and character, faith and ideology.

The truth will be obscured and promoted through heedlessness and recklessness. The masses’ psychology, their reactions, anger, expectations, desires are observed well, and the deception project is hidden and presented behind this psychology, reaction and anger.

Minds are pushed into extremely narrow and micro areas and distracted. A sort of blinding program is applied to hinder the truth, the big picture from clearly being seen. This is a state of mental stagnation, impediment, paralysis.

Turkey is face to face with the most ruthless, most merciless state of this project. Fake news, false information, false claims, false projects, fake characters and identities, the most deceiving of this market of lying men has been set up in this country.

They wanted to depersonalize Turkey, exploit in a moment of weak psychology to fool people with the project prepared instead of telling them the truth, to deceive and reach their goal. They planned to do this with fancy words and futile promises. Lie constantly to prevent them from coming to their senses, implement deception projects one after the other and bombard people with empty promises and discourses.

It can be said that “hypocrisy,” which Iran currently uses very effectively in the Shiite faith, has become institutionalized globally and the prototype is being used for the first time in Turkey.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) was the one that introduced this project to Turkey. Through exploiting religion, morality and spirituality, “deceit” was used as an effective discourse and power. They were so professional at lying that there was no breathing room for the truth.

FETÖ was the one that introduced the “post-truth” era. Their political projects, theories, social identities were built on lies. The terms “perception forming,” “perception building” were derived with them. This global, multinational project was implemented through FETÖ by almost paralyzing the Turkish community.

Unfortunately, this critical situation became widespread after FETÖ. The biggest legacy left to our country by this organization, which networked by exploiting religious values and is the contractor of U.S. intelligence in Turkey, was the normalization of lying.

We are now face to face with the realities we call the “FETÖ method.” We know that many political groups, social circles, organizations, capital groups and even religious movements use the same methods and seek power and interests through these methods.

In this sense, dynamiting reality, infecting society with a mental disease, opening the door to political projects through “lies and set-ups” has been bigger than the destruction and dangers FETÖ put our country through.

Even though the Dec. 17-25, 2013 and July 15, 2016 coup attempts have been overcome, their impacts will have a lasting effect. Personally, I think the March 31 local elections is the “third” project attempt after Dec. 17-25 and July 15.

Frankly, it has been an election period during which FETÖ methods, set-ups and lies took precedence over the truth, social tendencies were managed with mind games, and the masses were deceived through false promises and grand statements that were detached from Turkey’s reality and context.

In this sense, I perceived current Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as a project, a project given prominence using FETÖ methods. I saw him as a figure produced through PR efforts and studied discourses: the way he speaks, his tone, discourses and promises, his programs based on “doing nothing,” his manner of using communal anger and complaints, his work ethic, which has nothing to do with reality, his clothes, and mentality, among many others.

They have all been studied and programmed in advance. As a matter of fact, there is no political figure but a set-up, a project, a program. All this was presented, promoted through Ekrem İmamoğlu.

If you notice, all his discourses during the election term were built on lies. It was revealed after the elections that, item by item, they were all lies. They imposed a project in Istanbul through deceit and fiction. I guess he will have no other legacy in Turkey’s political history other than being the symbol of “lies.”

What I want to say is this: Bizarre tendencies, set-ups have turned into a sort of global trend, a field of interest. This is true. Perhaps humankind is turning toward the metaphysical and is curious about what lies beyond everyday knowledge and reality. This interest can now be sensed in cinema, political language, religious discourse and the formation of a social circle.

Yet, the world is preparing for the bitterest, toughest storm of all times. It is preparing for the deepest, biggest and most dizzying of all changes in the era. Political identities, ideologies may be rocked to the core, the social state of the human race, its sense of belonging could collapse from the root.

However, they are managing these mass tendencies and using this power. They are using it through exploitation. They are using humanity’s interest and tendencies against it. They are deviating humanity from its path and turning it into a sovereignty project.

The plans to internally blind Turkey, to build the strongest front within are being carried out within this context. This is where the danger lies.