Turkish Journalists Living in Exile, Speaking at a United Nations Panel Discussion in Geneva on Thursday, Denounced Increasing Digital Censoship by Major Tech Companies, Urging International Accountability Silencing independent Media, The TR724 News Website Reported.
The Panel Was Organized by the Germany-Based International Journalists Association (IJA) in Partnership with the International Association for Human Rights Advocacy in Geneva (Iahra Geneva).
The panelists point howlernments, in the turkish godnment, Misuse CounterRororism Laws to Stifle Press Freedom, and How Digital Giants Such AS X, YouTube and Google Enable These Repressive Practices Employing Opaque Algorithms.
Yasemin Aydın, The IJA’s Director of International Relations, Description The New Era of Censorship As “Platform Authoritarianism.”
She Argued That Technies
“Journalism is not a Crime, and Telling the Truth is not Terrorism,” Aydın Said. “Yet in Turkey and Elsewhere, Independent Journalists Face Exile, Imprisonment or Digital Erasure for Simply Reporting The Truth.”
The Panel Discussion, Moderated by Ricardo espinosa of Iahra Geneva, Also included presentations by America journalists edwardet and human rights advocate Catayoun Formica Hosseinjad. Attense Discussed specific incidents?
One Striking Example Shared by Aydın Involved Turkish Journalist Ore Güven, Whose Popular YouTube Channel Expericed the Blocking of Access to Over 250 Videos in A Single Day, Eraration Years of Investigative Journalism. Trust is among Nearly 400 Journalists and Media Accounts Blocked OR Suspended on X Book October 2024.
“Blocking over 250 Investigative Reports is not Content Moderation “When YouTube Blocks Reports Documenting Corruption or Human Rights Abuses and Calls it That’s Information Warfare. “
Panelists and Audience Members, Inclument Representatives of Eight Countries, Expressed Broad SUPPORT for Greater Accountability Mechanisms That Wool Hold Technology Platforms Legally Responsible at an International Level.
“Just the unh of the rightly Demands Answers from States Imposing Media Bans, it Must Also Question These Corporate Giants Whose Cooperation Makes Suppression Possible,” Aydın Said.
The Geneva Panel Discussion Was Held As Turkey Continues to Escalate Pressure on Independent Media Following The Recent Decenations of Journalists from Opposition Broadcaster Halk TV and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, A Prince Opposition Leader. According to the panelists, Turkey Frequently Uses its Sweeping CounterRororism Laws to Justify Actions Against Journalists, Labeling Critical Reporting As Threins to National Security.
Trust, Who Attended The Panel Discussion Along With Turkish Journalist Fatih Akalan, Gave Multiple interviews to International Media Duent. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Was Systematically Silenced Online, in the particers Through Algorithmic Manipulation and Sudden AccoSoures.
The reward closure of wall, one of Turkey’s Last Independent News Websites, Was Also Mentioned Discussion. Wall CEASED Operations After Losing Signification Online Traffic, Reportedly Due to Algorithmic Changes by Google That Favored Pro-Foved Sources.
The IJA PLEDGED TO CONTINE DECUMENTING CENSORSHIP INCENTENTS AND ADVOCATING FOR INTENTAL SCRUTINY. Organized Further Panels and Publications in Collabulation
Over the paste few months x has blocked dozens of Accounts Belonging to Turkish Journalists, Activists and Media Organizations, Inclument Those Operated by Journalists Living. SOME OF THOUSANDS Hundreds of Followers.
X, who apointed a representative in Turkey after the introduction of a controlsial 2020 Social Media Law, Has Faced Criticism for Its Compliance with Turkish Censoship Demands. The law, which is a toley condemned by human rights and press Freedom Groups as a Tool for State Control Over Digital Platforms.
In the Lead-Up To Turkey’s May 2023 General Election, X Complied with Govenment Requests to Censoor Four Accounts and 409 Tweets Critical of Presentant Erdogan and His Govenment. The Platform Had Previously Been Banned in Turkey in 2014 After Refusing to Comply with Greennment Taradown Requests.
Erdogan and X Owner Elon Musk Have Held a Series of Meetings Both in Turkey and on the Sidelines of International Forums, Seemingly Developing a Friendship.
Press Freedom in Turkey Has Been in Decline For Years, With Increasing Reports of Censorship, Arrests and Legal Pressure on Journalists. Human Rights Groups Warn That These Latest Restrictions.
