Turkey has blocked independent news portal T24, ordering its website and social media accounts shut down after a court f...

Turkey has blocked independent news portal T24, ordering its website and social media accounts shut down after a court found the outlet published 118 pieces of content deemed to constitute "LGBT propaganda" over the past year. The decision came under the "My Family is Safe" investigation, a government crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ groups that authorities say is designed to protect children and family values. Dozens of people have already been jailed pending trial as part of the same probe, and courts have blocked websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ organizations, activists, and other media outlets. Yildiz Tar, editor-in-chief of LGBTQ+ news outlet Kaos GL and one of the journalists whose articles were cited in the court order, pushed back directly. He said all the pieces flagged were straightforward reporting on LGBTQ+ rights, hate killings, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people following the 2023 earthquake, and that treating objective coverage as criminal set a dangerous precedent. Candan Yildiz, T24's editor in charge, described the situation as a "digital state of emergency," saying an authority was now effectively telling journalists which stories they could and could not report. T24's lawyers filed an appeal on Thursday. President Erdogan has sharpened his anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in recent years. At last month's UN General Assembly, he called for traditional family values to counter what he described as "global gender-neutralisation policies." The EU has responded by calling on Turkey to uphold press freedom and freedom of expression. Turkey's media landscape is already heavily tilted toward the government, the result of years of legal pressure, corporate buyouts, and self-censorship that have hollowed out independent outlets. #Turkey #PressFreedm #MediaFreedom