Turkiye blocks news outlets and social media in widening anti-LGBT crackdown
Ugandan activist among those accused of spreading ‘LGBT propaganda’
A widening crackdown on LGBT people and expression in Turkiye* has now seen the government target news outlets and social media accounts on accusations that the affected networks spread “LGBT propaganda,” in part by reporting on the government’s actions.
(* The Republic of Türkiye changed its official name from The Republic of Turkey in May 2022.)
Below are edited and shortened reports from Agence France-Presse via CTV and Joto La Jiwe, the Ugandan correspondent for Erasing 76 Crimes.
An Istanbul court has shut down independent news website T24 and its social media accounts over content prosecutors described as “LGBT propaganda,” marking a significant escalation in a weekslong crackdown on LGBTQ rights groups, activists, journalists and online platforms across Turkiye. More than 100 people have already been arrested as part of the crackdown nationwide.
The Istanbul 1st Criminal Court of Peace ordered T24’s website and social media accounts closed as part of an investigation known as “My Family Is Safe,” the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday.
T24 said the decision, dated Sept. 29, was formally served on the outlet by the Cyber Security Presidency via email on Wednesday evening.
The access-blocking order, which was also published by Turkiye’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), cites Article 8/A of the country’s internet law and requires implementation within four hours.
Prosecutors said T24 had published 118 items over the past year that they considered “LGBT propaganda.”
The Justice Ministry circulated a file containing examples of T24’s LGBTQ-related coverage, although a full public list of the 118 items and an explanation of how each allegedly violated the law were not immediately available.
The order targets one of Turkiye’s longest-running independent digital news organizations at a time of mounting pressure on critical media through arrests, criminal investigations, broadcast penalties and court-ordered restrictions on websites and social media accounts.
It also extends to T24’s social media presence, including an X account with about 1.9 million followers, a YouTube channel with some 268,000 subscribers and an Instagram account followed by approximately 238,000 people.
T24 said the decision followed what it described as a campaign of defamation and online targeting against the outlet, with multiple social media accounts circulating identical claims that it received outside funding and used LGBTQ-related coverage to target the family.
The outlet denies receiving outside funding and says repeated government tax audits have found no evidence that it did so.
“T24 has for some time been subjected to a campaign of defamation and lynching on social media,” the outlet said.
Gökçer Tahincioğlu, T24’s editorial coordinator and Ankara representative, also criticized the ruling.
“Such a harsh decision can be handed down against an institution employing dozens of media workers and journalists as a result of a carefully orchestrated smear campaign,” he wrote on X. “There is little one can say in the face of this.”
A group of Turkish and international journalism organizations also condemned the decision, calling it “a grave attack on our profession” and saying the closure violated press and freedom of expression as well as the public’s right to receive news.
The signatories, including the Journalists’ Union of Turkiye (TGS), the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the International Press Institute and several other Turkish journalists’ associations, called for the decision to be immediately reversed.
Closure follows LGBTQ crackdown
The ruling comes less than three weeks after police launched coordinated raids under the “My Family Is Safe” investigation against LGBTQ organizations, activists and venues in several Turkish cities.
The campaign has included arrests, investigations of rights groups and extensive online censorship. Earlier this month, courts blocked social media accounts belonging to the Evrensel newspaper, Amnesty International Turkiye, the MLSA, academics and LGBTQ organizations, citing alleged “obscene content and LGBT propaganda.”
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office later said 419 social media accounts had been blocked as part of the operation. Among those targeted were journalists Şirin Payzın and İrfan Değirmenci and the news outlet soL.
T24 itself had extensively covered the crackdown, including raids on LGBTQ rights organizations, arrests and court orders blocking the websites and accounts of Kaos GL, Velvele and other groups.
Journalist Tuğba Tekerek was also jailed pending trial this month on an obscenity charge over an article she wrote for LGBTQ news outlet Kaos GL. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said she had been detained simply for doing her job and called for her release.
The larger campaign has attracted international criticism. Diplomats from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Iceland expressed “deep concern” over the operations, while UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the release of people arbitrarily detained.
More than 450 civil society organizations from over 65 countries also called on Turkiye to stop what they described as the criminalization of the LGBTQ movement and release those detained.
T24 was founded by veteran journalist Doğan Akın and began publishing on September 1, 2009. The outlet says it has no affiliation with a company, political organization, association or outside fund and describes its editorial model as independent of both financial and ideological pressure.
It became an important platform for prominent journalists who had left or been pushed out of Turkiye’s traditional media organizations as ownership of much of the mainstream press shifted toward companies close to the government.
Its contributors include veteran journalist Hasan Cemal, a former editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet daily who has written for T24 since 2013. Cemal joined the website after leaving Milliyet following a dispute over his criticism of then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and media ownership. In 2015, he became the first journalist from Turkiye to receive Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism.
T24 says a 2018 survey of 306 journalists found it was the news website most widely known and regularly followed by journalists in Turkiye.
Press freedom in Turkiye deteriorates
The closure order comes amid worsening conditions for journalists and independent media in Turkiye.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkiye 163rd out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, down from 159th in 2025. The organization said media pluralism was being undermined and that independent and critical outlets were subject to legal, political and economic pressure.
Freedom House also rates Turkiye “Not Free” and says independent outlets face heavy political pressure, prosecution and censorship, while media organizations are frequently fined, blocked or shut down.
The court order against T24 follows a series of arrests of journalists this month. YouTube journalist Ali Tarakçı and Nefes news coordinator Fatih Ergin were jailed under Turkiye’s controversial “disinformation” law in recent days, prompting CPJ to accuse the government of using the legislation with increasing frequency to silence the press.
The government says restrictions and prosecutions involving media and online content are intended to enforce criminal law, protect public order and shield children and families from harmful material.
Press freedom and rights groups say broadly worded laws and sweeping court orders are increasingly being used to suppress journalism and legitimate public debate.
Leading Ugandan LGBTQI+ activist’s X account blocked by Turkish Authorities
Between Sept. 12 and 16, hundreds of X and Instagram accounts, including that of a leading Ugandan LGBTQI+ rights advocate Frank Mugisha, were blocked by Turkish authorities in its ongoing crackdown against LGBTQI+ people and human rights organizations. Other blocked X accounts from outside Turkiye include @Gayety and @Pride, both based in the United States.
According to EngelliWeb, a Turkish human rights organization whose X account tracks internet content that is blocked by Turkish authorities, Mugisha’s X account was blocked by a court order and withheld by X. The blocking means that his account cannot be accessed in Turkiye.
On September 15, Mugisha posted on X asking the international community to stand with the LGBTQI+ community in Turkiye, which was under attack from the Turkish authorities in a homophobic operation that started on September 12.
“Love is not a crime. Equality is not a crime. Speaking up for human rights is not a crime. Stand with Türkiye’s LGBTQ+ community. End the crackdown,” Mugisha wrote on X.
The following day, Mugisha posted that his X account has been banned in Turkiye for speaking up for LGBTQI+ people who were being targeted in the country.
“X just notified me that my account is legally banned in Türkiye for supporting LGBTQ+ rights. This state censorship is unjust, platforming equality is not a crime. Stand with Türkiye’s LGBTQ+ community,” Mugisha wrote.
Mugisha’s post included screenshots of the notification he received from X.
“To fulfill our obligations under Turkish local laws, access to your account from Turkey has been restricted; content remains accessible in other countries,” the notification says.
The crackdown is being conducted under the cover of what the authorities describe as broad public morality, obscenity, anti-association laws and state-backed initiatives like the “My Family is Safe” campaign.
Human Rights Watch says the Turkish government’s crackdown on groups and activists defending the rights of LGBTQI+ people threatens the rule of law and fundamental rights in Turkiye.
“This crackdown is a blatant attempt to criminalize and marginalize LGBT people and silence the groups that stand up for their rights,” says Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Turkish government should immediately release LGBT activists and others arrested without credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing and end its campaign against LGBT groups.”
Same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults is not a crime under the Turkish Penal Code, but in 2025, human rights advocates uncovered a plot by the Turkish authorities to criminalize LGBTQI+ people.
“These proposals present a grave threat to the rights of LGBTI people and those who advocate for LGBTI rights and they must never see the light of day,” Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty’s Deputy Director for Europe, said at the time.
