Turkey's media pressure points

Amid accusations of censorship, is government pressure creating a climate of intimidation for media in the country?


A few weeks ago the Listening Post looked at Turkey and the corruption scandal pitting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government against critical news outlets. That story has been intensifying.

On February 10, the editor of a leading newspaper went on the air to say that government pressure had created a climate of intimidation for the media in Turkey. That came after audio files leaked online purportedly showed his publication altering its news coverage at the behest of executives with close ties to the ruling AK Party.

Just two days before that, thousands of protesters were on the streets after parliament voted to change the internet law. If made official by President Abdullah Gul, the amended law will bolster existing legislation that has already allowed for the blocking of myriad websites in the country.

The government says the law is not censorship, but regulation. However, critics point to the timing. With elections coming up and the fact that official secrets have been leaked on the internet, their argument is that the Erdogan government is trying to curb the free flow of information online.