Turkish Airlines' #FlowThroughIstanbul Hashtag Quickly Linked To Islamic State

Airline's Ill-Timed #FlowThroughIstanbul Campaign Suffers Awkward Takeover

An ill-timed social media hashtag intended to promote tourism in Istanbul has been taken over by Twitter users who quickly made the obvious connection to those travelling to Syria via Turkey.

Turkish Airlines hoped its 'Flow Through Istanbul' initiative would highlight a "poetic journey" through the city, but instead hundreds of people are using the thread to point out the untimely association to jihadi fighters leaving Europe to fight for the so-called Islamic State.

Many of those travelling to Syria have done so via Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, with Britons among those to have journeyed from the city to the country's most southern border.

Once the airline's tweet was promoted, people reacted almost immediately.

In March this year, three young men from north west London were detained by police at Istanbul's airport after reportedly travelling first to Spain then to the country on their way to Syria.

In February, two schoolgirls from east London dodged Turkish intelligence officials while passing through Istanbul on their way to Syria and have since reportedly married husbands selected by Isis.

However, not all has been lost for the airline. The promoted video which accompanies the hashtag has received compliments.

The campaign continues to be promoted on the social network. HuffPost UK has contacted Turkish Airlines for comment.

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