Turkish authorities on Friday blocked access to the X account of the pro-Kurdish Yeni Yaşam daily, the newspaper reported.
This was the third ban on Yeni Yaşam’s X account, the paper said, adding that it would continue sharing news through a new account, @gazeteyeniyasam. Authorities did not provide any reason for the blocking order.
In recent months court orders have led to the blocking of hundreds of opposition-affiliated accounts, including those of journalists living in exile, independent news outlets and even the official account of jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival.
Press freedom groups and watchdogs such as the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) and EngelliWeb have documented a sharp rise in government takedown orders, especially since the arrest of İmamoğlu in March.
The government does not disclose the specific criteria used to determine which accounts are labeled criminal or which content is deemed disinformation.
Over the past decade Turkey has enacted increasingly strict laws targeting digital platforms, particularly with the introduction of a 2022 “disinformation law,” which criminalizes the dissemination of “false or misleading information” and carries prison sentences of up to three years. Critics argue that these laws are used to suppress dissent and silence opposition voices.
Turkish courts rarely reverse decisions to restrict access, and appeals can take months — or years — to resolve. Meanwhile, platforms that refuse to comply with Turkish orders face throttling or advertising bans under recent amendments to media and digital laws. Platform compliance has accelerated since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now called X.
Turkey’s increasing use of digital censorship has been cited by press freedom monitors as a key factor in the country’s low ranking in global media freedom indices.
Turkey was ranked 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in May.
