Turkey has charged at least 83 journalists a total of 114 times under its disinformation law since it took effect in October 2022, according to data compiled by the independent journalism data platform Veriler Ne Diyor? (What does my data say?)
The law introduced the offense of “publicly spreading misleading information” into the Turkish Penal Code and has led to 54 investigations and 39 court cases against journalists, along with 11 detentions and 10 arrests over reporting activities.
The figures contrast with statements by Feti Yıldız, a senior lawmaker in the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a key facilitator of the legislation, who said in February that the law “has no issue with news or journalists.”
Data show that while many investigations ended without prosecution, legal pressure has persisted through other measures. Of 54 investigations, 41 resulted in no further action, while others led to ongoing proceedings or judicial supervision measures such as travel bans and mandatory check-ins with the police. In several cases courts imposed restrictions including house arrest or reporting requirements rather than immediate imprisonment.
Three journalists have been sentenced to prison under the law, though at least one conviction was later overturned on appeal. Among them was journalist Sinan Aygül, initially sentenced to 10 months in prison in 2023 over a social media post before being acquitted after a higher court ruling.
Two others — Yüsra Batıhan of the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency (MA) and commentator Sedef Kabaş, who runs her own YouTube channel — were also sentenced to 10 months in separate cases linked to earthquake reporting and economic commentary, respectively.
The law has been used repeatedly against some journalists. İsmail Arı of the BirGün newspaper has faced the charge six times and was arrested in March. Alican Uludağ, a journalist with Deutsche Welle Turkish, is also currently in prison on separate charges, while facing multiple investigations and cases under the same provision.
Overall, authorities have detained journalists 11 times under the law, often releasing them under judicial supervision. Measures included travel bans, reporting requirements to police and in one case an order to read and summarize books on press freedom.
The use of the law intensified around coverage of earthquakes that hit Turkey in February 2023, one of the country’s deadliest disasters in recent history. Between February 2023 and January 2024, at least 14 journalists were charged over their reporting from affected regions, including allegations about aid distribution and access restrictions.
In one case, a report about unrest in a prison following the earthquake was later confirmed by official correspondence during trial proceedings, despite forming the basis for prosecution.
The data indicate that, excluding partial years, an average of about 29 journalists per year have been charged under the provision since its introduction.
As of April 8 authorities had brought the same charge against eight journalists in 2026 alone, including recent detentions and investigations linked to reporting and social media activity.
Turkey has long faced criticism from international organizations over press freedom. The country was ranked 159th out of 180 countries in the “2025 World Press Freedom Index” published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
