The Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association (DFG) criticized the blocking and deletion of several pieces of content from Kurdish media on social media after reporting on the Kurdistan Freedom Movement’s announcement of the withdrawal from Turkey.
In a statement on Monday, the DFG said that the declaration in question had received considerable media attention both nationally and internationally and had been extensively documented, particularly because of its political significance. Nevertheless, content from news agencies such as Mezopotamya, Jin News, Ajansa Welat, and Yeni Yaşam newspaper, which published the declaration, had been deleted from platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or their accounts had been temporarily suspended.
Pro-government warmongering press not affected
According to the DFG, the Instagram account of the Mezopotamya agency and the TikTok channel of Jin News, were among those blocked. Content distributed via the YouTube and Instagram channels of Jin News, Yeni Yaşam, and Ajansa Welat, among others, was removed on the grounds of alleged “violations of community standards.” However, media outlets close to the government that used “warlike rhetoric” were not affected by such measures, according to the statement.
Double standards
The DFG spoke of “double standards” and warned against unilateral restrictions on journalistic work. It said the measures are incompatible with both the principle of freedom of expression and the significance of the current political moment. “This practice contradicts the spirit of current developments and is unacceptable,” the association underlined. It called on social network operators to reconsider discriminatory blocking practices and to immediately restore the deleted content. “The voice of peace cannot be censored,” the statement concluded.
Basis: Censorship law against digital networks
In 2020, the Turkish government passed a law requiring social networks with more than one million daily users to appoint an official representative in Turkey. This representative serves as a contact person for the authorities and is responsible, among other things, for implementing requests to remove content or block accounts. The regulation is part of a broader effort to strengthen control over digital platforms. Failure to comply can result in sanctions ranging from fines and bandwidth restrictions to complete blocking of the service. The DFG sees the law as a threat to freedom of expression and a means for the state to exert targeted influence over content.