The X account of a Turkish Jewish creator behind several major children’s YouTube channels has been blocked for users in Turkey following an antisemitic backlash triggered by a television broadcast targeting him.
Users in Turkey attempting to access the account of Melih Abuaf now see a notice stating that the profile has been withheld in response to local laws and regulations.
Authorities have not publicly explained the legal basis for the restriction, and it remains unclear which court or government body ordered the measure.
The move comes days after the pro-government broadcaster TVNet aired a segment highlighting Abuaf’s Jewish identity and suggesting he was influencing Turkish children through widely viewed online content.
The broadcast opened with the claim that a Jewish man was “controlling the minds of Turkish children.”
Abuaf operates several popular Turkish-language children’s YouTube channels, including Çuf Çuf Çocuk Şarkıları, Karpuz Adam, Pırtık and Afacan TV, which collectively have millions of subscribers and billions of views.
After the broadcast aired, social media users began circulating clips of the program and calling for boycotts of Abuaf’s channels, while others condemned the coverage as antisemitic and dangerous.
Turkey’s small Jewish community, largely descended from Sephardic Jews who settled in the Ottoman Empire centuries ago after being expelled from Spain and Portugal, has periodically faced hostility during periods of regional political tension.
