Turkish authorities on Monday blocked the X account of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Foundation (Kaos GL) after announcing 2025 as the “Year of Combatting LGBTQ+ Content,” the Bianet news website reported.
Kaos GL was founded in 1994 and is one of the oldest and largest LGBTQ+ organizations in Turkey. It had a social media following of more than 47,000 accounts.
The organization’s website editor-in-chief Yıldız Tar described the block as “censorship” and said it would not deter them from fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.
““In recent months, after the X accounts of numerous women’s and feminist organizations were blocked, the X account of KaosGL.org was also blocked. The ban came right after Istanbul Trans Pride and Ankara Pride March, which makes it all the more telling. We see this intervention as an attempt to silence the voices of LGBTQ+ people during Pride Month, a time when those voices are most visible,” she said.
Tar said KaosGL.org was a media outlet that has been covering LGBTQ+ news and amplifying LGBTQ+ stories for many years, which is why this restriction by X was a serious blow not only to freedom of expression but also to press freedom
“X claims our account was blocked due to a legal request, but we were never notified in any form. This is an entirely arbitrary move, and it’s no surprise that X is aligning itself with Turkey’s broader efforts to censor media and erase LGBTQ+ existence from public life. Since Elon Musk acquired the platform, there’s been a clear trend of hate content targeting LGBTQ+ people being promoted, while posts defending LGBTQ+ rights are being censored. The targeting of Kaos GL’s account is just the latest reflection of this pattern. Still, we will continue our work and share LGBTQ+ stories through our new X account,” she added.
The LGBTQ+ community has been frequently targeted by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government, which have portrayed LGBTQ+ identity as a threat to traditional family values. The LGBTQ+ community, which is increasingly marginalized in Turkey, has been a key target in Erdoğan’s speeches. Pride parades have been banned since 2015, and state-sponsored anti-LGBTQ+ rallies have become more frequent. The Religious Affairs Directorate has also used Friday sermons to label LGBTQ+ movements as attempts to “erase the natural essence of men and women.”
KaosGL’s social media account is one of thousands that have been blocked this year. Earlier last month Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 27,304 social media accounts had been blocked in the first four months of 2025. Critics have described this as the country’s expanding digital crackdown. Human rights monitors and digital censorship watchdogs said opposition voices and activists were among those who have been targeted.
Turkish courts rarely reverse blocking decisions, 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. The trend of platform compliance has accelerated since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now called X.
