The image seemed impossible: during a soccer match in Turkey, the cameras focused on two people in the stands, and one of them appeared to be a child calmly smoking a cigarette.
Within hours, the scene went viral and sparked outrage on social media. And there was one detail that made everything even stranger: the match between Bursaspor and Fenerbahçe was a charity game intended to raise funds for organizations that helped children with leukemia, Down syndrome, autism, and other disabilities.
Thousands of people began wondering where the supposed minor’s parents were and how anyone could be smoking inside the stadium.
But then came the twist.
Some users began searching for the protagonist inside the stadium and discovered that he was not a child. He was a 36-year-old man named Cocuk, who had attended the match with his son.
His youthful appearance, combined with the camera angle and the fleeting image from the broadcast, had created a perfect illusion.
A photograph of the man alongside his son ultimately confirmed the enormous misunderstanding that had made its way around the world.
That said, although it was not a minor who was smoking, the cigarette was real, and smoking in public places such as stadiums was prohibited in Turkey.
For a few hours, the internet believed it was witnessing a scandalous story. In the end, it turned out to be something much stranger: a 36-year-old man who looked like a child sitting in the stands with his son.