Turkey is one of those countries where the AKP-sanctioned media continuously rates false news and innuendo for dissidents to distort the truth. When one reads pro-government media outlets such as dailies SABAH, Yeni Safak, AKSAM, and TV broadcasters like A Haber, CNNTurk, the impression is a country next to heaven, with a world leadign economy and leadership. The same media is also used to shamelessly and ruthlessly threaten and impugn the reputations of those who dare defy Presidnet Erdogan.
Recently, famous broadaster Nevsin Mengu got so tired of death threats that she issues a statemtn blaming the govenrment if she were attacked. Turkey leads the world in the number of journalists in prison on charges of “terrorism”, a label applied to any person who does not agree with President Erdogan or criticizes him.
The pressure on freedom of expression and peaceful advocacy of unpleasant causes is reinforced by Turkey’s media censorship board RTUK, stuffed with pro-AKP ”experts”, who turn a benign eye to fanatic AKP members spewing hatred in the social media but doesn’t miss a beat in punishing a few remaining dissident outlets. Recently, a woman intellectual commenting on pro-AKP TV network Ulke TV claimed she had a list of secularists in her neighborhood, and she and her husband “will take at least 50 of them with us, when the day of reckoning comes”. RTUK refused to investigate what is clearly hate speech, defending the woman, Mrs. Noyan, as expressing her support of the peoples’ resistance to aborted 2016 coup.
According to independent news outlet biaNet, The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has fined four media outlets critical of the government for 36 times since the beginning of 2019, according to a report prepared by İlhan Taşcı, a member of the council from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
While the four TV channels —Halk TV, Tele 1, KRT and FoxTV— were issued administrative fines for 28 times and forced to pay 11 million lira (~1.6 million USD), the authority also suspended broadcasts of several programs on these broadcasters for 27 times.
RTÜK “uses penalties as a stick to bring critical outlets into line,” Taşcı said on Twitter. He also criticized RTÜK Chair Ebubekir Şahin for his recent remarks that he didn’t any instructions from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan but he would take them as “orders” if he did. “Think about what they will do when they get instructions,” Taşcı said, pointing out the penalties against critical media.
According to the report, RTÜK issued a broadcast suspension penalty for three political discussion programs on Halk TV for 12 times. (Siyaset Kültürü [2], Medya Mahallesi [5], Sözüm Var [5]). It also issued 10 administrative fines for the broadcaster.
Fortunately, recent research shows declining newspaper readership and audiences for TVs, with double-digit growth in social media platforms such as YouTube, which are yet to come under the unforgiving aegis of RTUK.
Damien H Grande
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