Turkey Blocks Content Concerning Graft on Independent News Site
Dozens of articles on money laundering, political investigations, and organized crime restricted, highlighting ongoing online censorship in the country.
Banner: Erika Di Benedetto/OCCRP
Turkish authorities have cut access to multiple articles about corruption, organized crime, and politically sensitive issues on the independent news site Kısa Dalga, the outlet said.
The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) sent directives ordering the removal or restriction of content covering topics ranging from money laundering and corruption allegations to probes involving Istanbul’s opposition-led municipalities, Kısa Dalga reported.
Among the blocked reporting were stories examining criminal investigations into businessmen Sezgin Baran Korkmaz and Cihan Ekşioğlu, including detention and search orders and allegations that the suspects exploited financial difficulties at a tourism company to gain control of a luxury hotel in Bodrum, according to the Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF), a Sweden-based non-profit founded by exiled journalists that promotes democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Turkey.
Other restricted content related to the political agenda included coverage of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) investigation. News reports featuring statements by former ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker Şamil Tayyar about individuals involved in the IMM probe, as well as content on allegations concerning the Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ) land—a publicly donated property at the center of controversial privatization and development claims—were blocked by BTK, Kısa Dalga reported.
The outlet said the blocks prevent readers from accessing reporting that holds powerful individuals and institutions accountable, a concern echoed by rights groups monitoring press freedom in Turkey.
“Kısa Dalga reporting on public-interest issues, including the use of state power and activities of politically connected figures, has been effectively blocked,” the outlet said.
The restrictions reflect a broader pattern of online censorship in Turkey. A report by digital rights group FreeWebTurkey found that in the first seven months of 2025, authorities issued orders blocking 1,306 pieces of content and restricting access to 3,330 URLs.
FreeWebTurkey said the measures disproportionately target independent news outlets, journalists’ social media accounts, and civil society websites, often citing broad or vague legal justifications such as national security, public order, or “personal rights.”
The group also noted that some blocks cited legal provisions that Turkey’s Constitutional Court has repeatedly deemed unconstitutional. The court struck down rules allowing content to be blocked for allegedly harming an individual’s reputation or private life in 2024, and in 2021 it found similar measures violated free expression, according to FreeWebTurkey. The court has also removed the BTK president’s authority to independently order content removals.
“Censorship has become a routine tool rather than an exceptional measure,” FreeWebTurkey said, emphasizing that access restrictions increasingly affect both journalism and the broader space for public debate.
