Censorship in Turkey

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Censorship in Turkey is regulated by domestic and international legislation, the latter (in theory) taking precedence over domestic law, according to Article 90 of the Constitution of Turkey (so amended in 2004).[1]

Despite legal provisions, freedom of the press in Turkey has steadily deteriorated from 2010 onwards, with a precipitous decline following the attempted coup in July 2016.[2][3] The Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has arrested hundreds of journalists, closed or taken over dozens of media outlets, and prevented journalists and their families from traveling. By some accounts, Turkey currently accounts for one-third of all journalists imprisoned around the world.[4]

Since 2013, Freedom House ranks Turkey as "Not Free".[2] Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey at the 149th place out of over 180 countries, between Mexico and DR Congo, with a score of 44.16.[5] In the third quarter of 2015, the independent Turkish press agency Bianet recorded a strengthening of attacks on opposition media under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) interim government.[6] Bianet's final 2015 monitoring report confirmed this trend and underlined that, once the AKP had regained a majority in parliament after the AKP interim government period, the Turkish government further intensified its pressure on the country's media.[7]

According to Freedom House,

The government enacted new laws that expanded both the state's power to block websites and the surveillance capability of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Journalists faced unprecedented legal obstacles as the courts restricted reporting on corruption and national security issues. The authorities also continued to aggressively use the penal code, criminal defamation laws, and the antiterrorism law to crack down on journalists and media outlets. Verbal attacks on journalists by senior politicians—including Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the incumbent prime minister who was elected president in August—were often followed by harassment and even death threats against the targeted journalists on social media. Meanwhile, the government continued to use the financial and other leverage it holds over media owners to influence coverage of politically sensitive issues. Several dozen journalists, including prominent columnists, lost their jobs as a result of such pressure during the year, and those who remained had to operate in a climate of increasing self-censorship and media polarization.[2]

In 2012 and 2013 the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Turkey as the worst journalist jailer in the world (ahead of Iran and China), with 49 journalists sitting in jail in 2012 and 40 in 2013.[8][9] Twitter's 2014 Transparency Report showed that Turkey filed over five times more content removal requests to Twitter than any other country in the second half of 2014, with requests rising another 150% in 2015.[10][11]

During its rule since 2002 the ruling AKP has gradually expanded its control over media.[12] Today, numerous newspapers, TV channels and internet portals dubbed as Yandaş Medya ("Partisan Media") or Havuz Medyası ("Pool Media") continue their heavy pro-government propaganda.[13] Several media groups receive preferential treatment in exchange for AKP-friendly editorial policies.[14] Some of these media organizations were acquired by AKP-friendly businesses through questionable funds and processes.[15] Media not friendly to AKP, on the other hand, are threatened with intimidation, inspections and fines.[16] These media group owners face similar threats to their other businesses.[17] An increasing number of columnists have been fired for criticizing the AKP leadership.[18][19][20][21]

The AKP leadership has been criticized by multiple journalists over the years because of censorship.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

  1. ^ Düzgit, Senem Aydın (22 May 2008). "What is happening in Turkey?". Center for European Policy Studies. The last paragraph of Article 90 states that 'In the case of a conflict between international agreements in the area of fundamental rights and freedoms duly put into effect and the domestic laws due to differences in provisions on the same matter, the provisions of international agreements shall prevail.
  2. ^ a b c Freedom House, Turkey 2015 Press Freedom report Archived 2015-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "CPJ testifies on Turkey's press freedom record after failed coup attempt - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  4. ^ Benhabib, Seyla; Benhabib, Seyla (16 March 2017). "Turkey is about to take another step toward dictatorship". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  5. ^ Reporters Without BordersTurkey Archived 2016-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Media Monitoring Report 2015 3rd Quarter: Increasing Pressure on Press: Democracy in Question". Bianet.
  7. ^ "Media Monitoring Report 2015 4th Quarter: Media in Last Three Months of 2015". Bianet.
  8. ^ "Turkey increases Pressure on the Media". Fanack.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  9. ^ "2013 prison census: 211 journalists jailed worldwide - Committee to Protect Journalists". www.cpj.org. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Twitter's transparency report: Turkey tops countries demanding content removal – Tech2". Tech2. 10 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Turkey tops countries demanding content removal: Twitter". Reuters. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  12. ^ Murat Aksera; Banu Baybars-Hawks (2012). "Media and Democracy in Turkey: Toward a Model of Neoliberal Media Autocracy" (PDF). Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication. 5 (3): 302–321. doi:10.1163/18739865-00503011.
  13. ^ "Havuz Medyası". Cumhuriyet. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Increasing political pressure on Turkish media". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  15. ^ "CHP directs parliamentary inquiry to Erdoğan into bribery in Sabah-ATV sale". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  16. ^ "Turkey's largest media group refuses to bow to gov't pressure". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  17. ^ "Turkey's Fading Democracy". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  18. ^ "Turkish columnist fired for criticizing PM". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  19. ^ "Columnist fired from pro-gov't daily after critical comment over Soma". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  20. ^ "Columnists fired as daily Akşam gets new chief". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  21. ^ "Columnist censored, reporters fired as pressure on Doğan media grows". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  22. ^ "Turkey: Social Media Law Will Increase Censorship". Human Rights Watch. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  23. ^ "In Turkey, the state resorts to censorship majeure". Global Voices. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  24. ^ Aydıntaşbaş, Aslı (18 October 2022). "Turkey's new media law is bad news – but don't report it". Brookings. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Turkey: Freedom on the Net 2022 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Turkey: "Dark day for online free expression" as new 'disinformation law' is passed". Amnesty International. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Resisting censorship in Turkey". English Pen. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  28. ^ admin (8 February 2023). "Access to Twitter restricted in Turkey, Users accuse Erdogan of Censorship". Sarajevo Times. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  29. ^ Mason, Paul (7 March 2016). "Can a Turkey sliding into despotism and censorship still join the EU? The answer must be no". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Turkey now needs greater freedom, not a censored internet". European Greens. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  31. ^ Hansen, Suzy (13 November 2019). "Finding Truth Online Is Hard Enough. Censors Make It a Labyrinth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  32. ^ Weise, Zia (23 August 2018). "How Did Things Get So Bad for Turkey's Journalists?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 11 March 2023.