A post shared on Facebook purports multiple countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and France pulled their ambassadors out of Turkey 24 hours before the Feb. 6 earthquake.

Verdict: False

The claim is false. All the ambassadors referenced in the post are based in the Turkish city of Ankara, which was not affected by the earthquake, according to Full Fact.

Fact Check:

The World Bank has estimated that the Feb. 6 earthquake which struck Turkey caused $34.2 billion in damage and had lowered the country’s Gross Domestic Product growth to 3,5 percent, according to Reuters. More than 45,000 people have died as a result of the earthquake and hundreds of thousands of apartments had sustained massive damage, NBC News reported.

“They used HAARP technology in Turkey to teach them a lesson about NATO,” the Facebook post, which purports multiple countries pulled their ambassadors out of Turkey ahead of the Feb. 6 earthquake, reads. The U.S., U.K., France, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Holland, Denmark, and Australia are all named in the post.

The claim is false. All the ambassadors referenced in the post are based in the Turkish capital of Ankara, which was not affected by the earthquake, according to Full Fact. The embassy is usually based in the capital city of the host nation, the outlet reported.

There are no credible news reports suggesting multiple countries including the U.S., U.K., and France pulled their ambassadors out of Turkey 24 hours before the Feb. 6 earthquake. Likewise, the claim neither appears on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s website nor his verified social media accounts. In addition, the U.S., British, and French Embassies in Turkey have not publicly addressed the purported claim.

Iterations of the claim also circulated on Twitter, with slight variations in the list of countries mentioned. (RELATED: Did Romania Blame The U.S. For The Turkey Earthquake?)

List of countries that pulled their ambassadors out of Turkey 24 hours before the earthquake.

✓Canada
✓USA
✓Britain
✓Germany
✓Belgium
✓Italy
✓Holland
✓France

Nothing suspicious here

— ricks (@ricks_singh) February 13, 2023

Check Your Fact has contacted the U.S., British, and French Embassies in Turkey for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.