05.01.2026 09:30
Photos of female students who have enrolled at Izmir University of Economics since 2001 were uploaded to an unauthorized website and put to a vote under the title 'who is sexier.' Following a strong backlash on social media, the site was shut down. After the site was closed, a 'forgiveness' message was published by a person identified as its founder.
On a website reportedly related to İzmir University of Economics, photos of female students who enrolled since the university's establishment in 2001 were featured. The presentation of these photos under the title "who is sexier" for user voting quickly sparked outrage.
SCANDAL 'TOP' LIST
The creation of lists titled "top 50" and "bottom 50" based on the women participating in the voting further increased the backlash. Social media users reacted strongly, stating that both privacy was violated and women were targeted in the posts.
THE SITE WAS SHUT DOWN AFTER THE REACTIONS
According to the news from Ege'de Son Söz, the website was quickly shut down following the posts that brought the incident to light. This development ignited new discussions about the protection of personal data and data security in universities.
"FORGIVENESS" MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER
After the site was shut down, a farewell message was published by the person identified as the founder under the title "forgiveness." In the message, an apology was made, stating that "all files have been permanently deleted." It was also noted that a button named "forgive me" was added below the message, and when clicked, a thank you message was sent to the user. The identity of the site's founder was reported to be unknown.
The message on the site included the following statements:
"Farewell and Forgiveness
If I have hurt you, if I have unintentionally offended you, or if I have any rights over you; my intention was to draw attention to the cybersecurity vulnerability at the school.
I did not want to engage in any behavior that would intentionally disturb anyone. I sincerely apologize for what has happened. I have permanently deleted all files.
If I have any rights over you, even as small as a mustard seed, may it be forgiven.
Please forgive me as well."