Turkey expands online censorship by blocking corruption-related reporting on independent news site |
Turkish authorities have once again drawn attention to the country’s tightening controls over digital media by blocking access to dozens of articles published by the independent news outlet Kısa Dalga. The restricted content focuses largely on allegations of corruption, money laundering, organized crime, and politically sensitive investigations, underscoring growing concerns among journalists and rights advocates about the shrinking space for independent reporting and public accountability in Turkey.
According to Kısa Dalga, the restrictions were imposed following directives from the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (Bilgi Teknolojileri ve İletişim Kurumu, BTK), Turkey’s main telecommunications regulator. The orders reportedly required the removal of specific articles or the blocking of public access to them. The affected reporting spans a wide range of topics that touch directly on alleged misconduct by powerful individuals, as well as investigations involving opposition-led local governments.
Among the blocked articles were in-depth reports examining criminal investigations into businessmen Sezgin Baran Korkmaz and Cihan Ekşioğlu. These stories detailed detention and search orders, as well as allegations that the suspects exploited financial distress at a tourism company to seize control of a luxury hotel in the resort town of Bodrum. The reporting, cited by the Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF), outlined how complex financial arrangements and alleged abuses of corporate vulnerability were used to consolidate control over........