A famous street dog that made international headlines for travelling 20 miles a day on public transport in Istanbul has become the victim of “cancel culture” and allegedly been framed by a man who placed poop on a tram to discredit it in viral footage viewed over 14.5 million times.
Boji, the adorable stray dog in Istanbul, made international headlines in October after it emerged that it travelled up to 20 miles every day on the public transport system in Turkey’s largest city and was much beloved by locals.
But the dog was accused of soiling a tram after faeces were found, leading to social media reportedly being flooded with messages criticising the adorable stray, according to local media outlet the Daily Sabah.
Some netizens reportedly wrote “You spoiled him too much” and “Enough with Boji”.
The official Facebook account for the stray, however, denied the allegations, posting messages from the dog’s point of view, saying: “I was at home all day and did not go out. You stained the tram and you blamed me. You are evil.”
Footage does indeed appear to show the dog spending the whole day at a shelter on the day it is alleged to have pooped on the tram. A video shared by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality appears to show Boji at the shelter, playing with a man on 19th November, the same day an unnamed man placed poop on a tram seat.
The other footage appears to show the unidentified man leaving the faeces on the tram. This appears to exonerate the dog, which the Daily Sabah said had become the latest victim of “cancel culture”.
The footage showing the man placing what appears to be faeces on the tram was first shared by Istanbul Municipality spokesperson Murat Ongun on 20th November, who said that Boji the dog was framed by the man who placed the poop on public transportation on 19th November after carrying it in his pocket. The man’s identity currently remains unknown.
The caption on Ongun’s Twitter post of the footage, which has gone viral with over 14.5 million views, reads: “It was alleged that Boji had pooped on the tram. But the cameras showed us these incredible images, watch it.”
The incident has since reportedly become a political issue between government supporters and the opposition in Istanbul, with local media outlet Duvar English saying that the issue has turned into a political row between the supporters of the government and the opposition, with pro-AKP figures accused of circulating that the dog had pooped on public transportation to slam the CHP-led Istanbul Municipality.
It is currently unclear if the incident of the framed dog is being investigated by the authorities.
