“He has ties to Donald Trump!”
A post by Paul Golding, leader of the far-right Britain First Party (BNP), has sparked outrage in Turkey. Golding’s post comes amid growing calls for Istanbul to be “freed from Turkish occupation.” He shared a digitally created image of troops outside Hagia Sophia with the Greek flag flying, captioned only with the word: “Soon.” this caused Turkish outrage over the post with Greek flag on Hagia Sophia.
The Turkish media immediately condemned Golding’s post, calling it a scandal. Headlines read:
“Hagia Sophia: He can’t accept it! Scandalous post by a British politician—Turkey threatened with occupation.”
“Paul Golding, leader of Britain First, can’t stomach Hagia Sophia’s conversion back into a mosque and has issued a brazen threat to Turkey.”
Turkish news outlet TRHaber reported:
“Paul Golding, leader of the far-right Britain First Party in England, shared a provocative post on social media with the note ‘Coming Soon,’ signaling that this plan would be executed soon.”
The post came at a time of heightened cultural tensions between Turkey and Greece. Greece had declared a period of mourning when the first Friday prayers were held at Hagia Sophia in 86 years.
While the post was widely supported by many on social media, it also reflected Golding’s longstanding anti-Islamic views. Britain First is known for its anti-immigration stance.
Golding and deputy Jayda Fransen’s Twitter accounts were previously suspended for hate speech but were reinstated recently. Both gained attention when US President Donald Trump shared their Islamophobic videos last month.
Fransen was arrested in Belfast last week, where she thanked Trump and appealed for his help, saying: “I want you to help me before they put me in jail.”
Britain First has previously stirred controversy with actions in areas with large Muslim populations and its opposition to London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Golding responded humorously to Turkey’s outrage, saying: “I must be the most hated person in Turkey right now.”
The Post That Shook Twitter
A simple yet powerful digitally created image has caused an uproar on Twitter since the beginning of 2025, quickly going viral.
The image, depicting the Greek army in front of Hagia Sophia, has garnered over 5 million views. It was created using Elon Musk’s new digital image app, GROK.
Notably, two of the most significant posts featuring this image came from Angelos Chorianopoulos, an international arms analyst, and British politician Paul Golding.
Chorianopoulos, in a tweet posted in English, declared that he hoped to see Greece reclaim Constantinople in 2025. The post gained over 2 million views within just two days.
Golding, a prominent figure known for his anti-Turkish rhetoric, then shared the image with the message, “Soon, Istanbul will be Greek.” His post went viral, amassing over 3 million views. Golding has repeatedly expressed his view that Turkey is “Europe’s number one enemy.”
