By Ali Kucukgocmen
ANKARA, Oct 1 (Reuters) – A Turkish journalist whose reporting was cited among the reasons for blocking independent news portal T24 said the decision effectively considered objective reporting on LGBTQ+ people a crime, as the outlet prepared to appeal the order on Thursday.
A court ordered the blocking of access to T24’s website and social media accounts after authorities said the company had published 118 pieces of content deemed to constitute “LGBT propaganda” over the past year.
The move was made as part of the My Family is Safe investigation, a growing crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ groups that the government says is aimed at protecting children and family values but has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and the European Union.
Yildiz Tar, editor-in-chief of the LGBTQ+ media outlet Kaos GL, whose articles published by T24 were among “those cited,” rejected the authorities’ description of the report.
“It creates the image that writing about LGBTQI people objectively is a crime, because all the articles I wrote were objective,” Tar said in an interview.
“It’s not propaganda. It’s about grassroots journalism. It’s about reality,” he said, adding that the articles covered LGBTQ+ rights, hate killings and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people after the 2023 earthquake in Turkey.
‘STATE OF EMERGENCY’
Candan Yildiz, editor-in-chief of T24, said the decision further expanded restrictions that began last month with operations against LGBTQ+ organizations and activists.
“We are truly experiencing a state of digital emergency,” she told Reuters. “An authority is telling journalists: you can report these stories, but you can’t report these. This really undermines the foundations of our profession.”
T24’s lawyers were expected to appeal the decision on Thursday, Yildiz said.
“Journalism cannot be closed. We are doing our job,” she said.
DETENTIONS
Dozens of people have been jailed while awaiting trial in the investigation, and courts have blocked websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ groups, activists and media outlets.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has hardened his anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in recent years, and last month at the United Nations General Assembly he said a trend toward “global gender neutralization policies” could be countered by protecting the traditional family.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe “said that arrests, searches and digital restrictions constitute a coordinated and escalating campaign against LGBT people and rights defenders. It passed a resolution on Thursday calling on Turkey to immediately release those detained for their human rights work and to refrain from passing anti-LGBT legislation.
The EU also called on the country to respect “freedom of expression and freedom of the media”.
The vast majority of Turkish media are considered pro-government after years of state legal and financial pressure, corporate acquisitions and self-censorship.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen in Istanbul; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Daren Butler and Jonathan Spicer)
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