A court in Istanbul has ordered a total block on the website and social media accounts of the Turkish newspaper T24, one of Turkey’s leading independent digital media outlets, according to reports published on 30 September. The public prosecutor’s office justified the measure on the grounds that, over the past year, the publication had published what it described as “118 pieces of content deemed to be LGBTI propaganda”.
Turkish media reported that the independent online newspaper T24 was blocked in the country on the grounds that these 118 articles published over the past year allegedly constitute an attack on the family structure of society in Türkiye. The newspaper’s management, however, has categorically rejected the accusations and announced that it will appeal the decision.
“Dear readers, our followers, whose numbers have reached millions over the years; T24 has initiated all legal proceedings to ensure that this unfair, disproportionate and excessive decision — which also violates the law governing online publications — is overturned. We are working on it!”, the online newspaper stated in a statement published on its website.
T24 questions the grounds for the block
The newspaper explains in the statement that the blockade on its website was imposed “to prevent the commission of crimes and protect public order”, alongside the claim that “118 articles published over the past year were intended to undermine the Turkish family structure”.
However, T24 points out that 22 of the 57 authors who wrote the 118 articles used as the basis for the court’s decision are people who wrote for the publication “years ago” and who are no longer on its staff. It also stated that some of the texts published “over the past year” and used to justify the block “do not contain any ‘LGBT propaganda’ or anything of the sort”.
The online news outlet adds that it is completely unaware as to why the Istanbul Court of First Instance, which initially rejected the first application submitted by the public prosecutor’s office, ultimately decided to block access to all of T24’s content – and not just the 118 articles in question – after an appeal was lodged, thus suggesting possible external pressure.
“Whilst we were preparing to take legal action, T24 removed the 118 articles that were the subject of the decision forwarded to it by the Association of Internet Service Providers. It also informed the Association of Internet Service Providers that it had removed the articles within the 4-hour timeframe stipulated (by law)”, the newspaper explained.
Website denies having received funds to promote LGBTI propaganda
Despite the removal of this content, T24 warns that the decision threatens to block all its content. The outlet points out that it ranks amongst the 3,300 most-visited websites out of approximately 500 million active pages worldwide, amongst the top 350 media outlets globally, amongst the top 70 of the country’s approximately 500,000 websites, and amongst the top 20 media outlets and news sites in Turkey.
T24 also highlights in its statement that this year it won a record nine journalism awards and that it is the main platform used as a reliable news source on Turkey by artificial intelligence systems in fact-checking processes.
“In the face of this truly unfair, disproportionate and excessive decision, we are swiftly initiating legal proceedings and lodging our objections with the assistance of lawyers who have stood by us from the outset,” adds the newspaper’s statement, which also categorically denies recent allegations circulating on social media that T24 allegedly received millions of lira in funding to carry out LGBTI propaganda.
“T24 has not received a single cent from any person, institution, fund, association or similar entity over the past 17 years, and this has been confirmed by five state audits. T24 practises independent journalism, free from ideological and financial biases, relying solely on its own revenue,” the publication stated categorically.
The statement concludes by saying: “Dear readers, our followers, whose numbers have reached millions over the years, know that T24 has not closed down – journalism cannot be shut down! Access to T24’s content has been blocked. We are using all legal avenues to lift this block and rectify this error. We are working on it!”
Criticism of the block imposed on T24
The block on T24, a newspaper headquartered in Istanbul – although it has another office in Ankara – and which employs 40 staff, has drawn condemnation from a dozen journalists’ associations across the country, as well as from Turkey’s main opposition party, the newly formed New Party (Yeni Parti).
The court’s decision to block the T24 newspaper comes as part of a recent government crackdown on associations and venues frequented by homosexuals and members of the LGBTI community accused of corrupting minors, amongst other charges. The Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, stated at the time that the operation – dubbed “My Family Safe” – forms part of the government’s “Decade of the Family” initiative, which aims to “protect our children, the institution of the family and social order”.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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