Gazete Duvar, an independent news website that was launched in Turkey in 2016, has decided to end its operations due to economic problems caused primarily by Google algorithm changes, the platform’s owner, Vedat Zencir, announced, Turkish Minute reported.
Zencir said in article on the website on Wednesday titled “Gazete Duvar’a Veda” (Farewell to Gazete Duvar) that the company has suffered a significant loss of revenue due to changes in Google’s algorithm, a trend he expects to continue.
“The growing dependence on a global tech giant that operates without accountability has become an increasingly pressing issue for journalism,” he said.
Some Turkish media outlets have been accusing Google of indirectly censoring independent news organizations through algorithm adjustments that have significantly reduced visibility, with some experiencing traffic losses of up to 80 percent.
Representatives of several media outlets say that the decline in visitor numbers has deprived independent news organizations of significant revenue, causing them to suffer financially, as in the case of Gazete Duvar.
Zencir also said inflationary economic policies and financial crises in Turkey have nearly doubled the newspaper’s costs in recent years as the country has been suffering from high inflation and a loss in the value of the Turkish lira.
“Given the current conditions, the management could not, in good conscience, ask employees to make further sacrifices in an already challenging and high-risk profession,” he said.
Gazete Duvar began its journey on August 8, 2016, during a period of intense political turmoil in the country caused by a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
The government launched a massive crackdown on non-loyalists under the pretext of an anti-coup fight and closed down hundreds of media outlets, arrested dozens of journalists who were outspoken critics of the government.
Since then, Turkey has maintained a state of heightened repression. The political opposition, media and civil society have faced mounting pressure, making it increasingly difficult to challenge the government.
Over the past nine years, Gazete Duvar has built a strong audience amid the limited presence of independent media in the country and growing pressure on independent journalists, attracting nearly 900,000 followers on X and 631,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Zencir said although the political and social climate in Turkey has only grown more challenging since then, Gazete Duvar remained committed to independent, impartial and free journalism, staying true to the principles and decisions it set from the beginning despite difficulties.
“While there may have been mistakes or shortcomings along the way, the organization has maintained that it never regretted any of its reporting or felt compromised in its courage and integrity,” he said.
Zencir is known for being Turkey’s first conscientious objector. The platform’s first editor-in-chief was prominent journalist Ali Duran Topuz. Several academics dismissed from universities by post-coup government decrees due to their call for the end of clashes between the security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who are known as the “Academics of Peace” have also contributed as writers.
In the fall of 2021 Topuz stepped down and was replaced by journalist Hakan Aksay. During this period, a number of journalists left the publication. After Aksay, journalist Barış Avşar took over as editor-in-chief and has held the position since 2022.
The outlet has also an English news website, Duvar English.
According to Reporters without Borders (RSF), “with authoritarianism gaining ground” in Turkey, media pluralism is being called into question and “all possible means” are used to undermine critics.
Ninety percent of the media is under the control of the government, RSF says.
Turkish authorities have in the last few years imposed restrictions on websites, social media accounts and posts covering news stories critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has led to accusations that freedom of expression has been curtailed.
The deterioration of internet freedoms in Turkey was also documented in a 2024 report published by the US-based Freedom House, which showed Turkey ranking the lowest-scoring country in Europe for online freedoms and again ranking among the “not free” countries concerning online freedoms.
Turkey had a score of 31 in a 100-point index, with scores based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). The other two lowest-scoring countries in Europe were Hungary, with a score of 69, and Serbia with 70.
