Turkish authorities briefly detained four journalists in the western province of Aydın under the country’s controversial disinformation law over a social media post headlined “Erdoğan died” that in fact referred to a local woman who shared the president’s surname, with a court later releasing them under judicial supervision.
The Aydın Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the journalists on suspicion of “publicly disseminating misleading information” under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code after complaints about the post, according to the Bianet news website.
Police detained Emin Aydın, the newspaper’s legal representative, managing editor Yeşim Ülker and reporters İslam Keleş and İrem Delice as part of the investigation. The four were taken to the courthouse after questioning by police and later released under judicial supervision.
The Facebook post by the local Aydın Denge newspaper featured a black image bearing the words “Erdoğan Vefat Etti” (Erdoğan died), while the accompanying report identified the deceased as Gülşen Erdoğan.
Journalists in Turkey face frequent investigations and prosecutions over their reporting and social media activity, particularly under laws criminalizing “disinformation,” “insulting public officials” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda.”
Introduced in 2022, Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code, commonly known as the disinformation law, requires prison sentences of one to three years for those found guilty of publicly spreading false information in a way that causes concern, fear or panic among the public.
The law has prompted widespread criticism from press freedom and rights groups, which say its vague wording gives authorities broad powers to investigate and prosecute journalists and social media users over reporting and online commentary.
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 19 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 163rd out of 180 nations.
