Turkey's latest crackdown on independent media targets outlets pushing 'LGBT propaganda'

Jerusalem Post/Middle EastA court in Istanbul shut down T24, an independent news outlet, over allegedly publishing 'LGBT propaganda.'Follow us on GooglePeople rally in solidarity with LGBTQ+ community in Ankara Tuesday, 15th September 2026(photo credit: REUTERS/Efekan Akyuz)OCTOBER 1, 2026 16:26Updated: OCTOBER 1, 2026 16:28In a sweeping crackdown on free speech, Turkish authorities have, over the past week, shut down an independent news website accused of publishing “LGBT propaganda,” blocked a number of X/Twitter accounts accused of spreading “pro-Israel propaganda,” and blocked at least 147 other social media accounts that had shared content about the country’s fund crisis, according to Turkish media reports and internet freedom monitoring groups.A court in Istanbul on Wednesday shut down the independent news website T24 and its affiliated social media accounts over content that prosecutors described as “LGBT propaganda,” marking the second major move that authorities have taken against the LGBT community in recent weeks.Turkish authorities arrested dozens of LGBT people as part of a campaign dubbed "My Family is Safe."The court’s decision was formally served on the outlet by the Cyber Security Presidency by email on Wednesday evening. In response, the media site noted that just under half of those named in the complaint had left the site years ago, argued that no LGBT “propaganda” had been published, and insisted that the “baseless decision” violated broadcast and free-expression laws.Notably, Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 163rd out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, down from 159th in 2025.Riot police, with a rainbow flag in the background, chase LGBT rights activists as they try to gather for a pride parade in Istanbul, Turkey (credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS)T24 denies they were paid to promote LGBT issues“Against this truly unfair, disproportionate, and baseless decision, we are swiftly advancing legal processes with lawyers who rushed to our side from the very first moment, and we are filing our objections,” the site said in a statement, while denying the accusation that they had received millions in funding to promote being LGBT.Prosecutors claimed T24 had published 118 items over the past year that they considered to constitute “LGBT propaganda,” though a public list of said items was never provided.According to Turkiye Today, authorities took action against 93 accounts on X alleging that they had been spreading “propaganda” in favor of Israel and carrying out “perception operations through disinformation posts.” In addition, authorities also sought to block the accounts of 133 people accused of spreading alleged disinformation on the Gulf, publishing manipulative stock market posts, targeting national security, and “conducting Israeli propaganda.”The Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a blocking order against 40 accounts, while the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a separate order against an additional 93 accounts.The internet censorship monitoring ‌initiative EngelliWeb also reported on Wednesday that Turkey blocked access to at least 147 X accounts that shared content about the country's fund crisis.EngelliWeb, a project of the Freedom of Expression Association, said the affected accounts included people working in finance and capital markets, economists, academics, technical analysts, traders, investors and lawyers, with ⁠a combined following of around 2.65 million users.Earlier this week, EngelliWeb said some 150 X ‌accounts, ⁠including those of journalists, online news outlets and the co-founder of the association Yaman Akdeniz were blocked on the grounds of protecting national security and public order.Follow us on Google