How Putin Walked Right Into an Election Sex Tape Scandal

ISTANBUL—Turkey’s opposition is accusing Russia of trying to influence Sunday’s elections in order to keep President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in office as several polls suggest he is on the verge of losing power.

Although Erdogan’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin have long raised alarm, a sex tape scandal is shaping up to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Muharrem İnce, a presidential candidate who led the main opposition party in 2018, left the race this week over rumors of an alleged sex tape spread online. The candidate claimed that the tape was a deepfake and said he had gone through a false character assassination.

Read more at The Daily Beast.