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‘Controlling the Narrative’: Turkish Govt’s Disinformation Law Becomes a Weapon

The growing use of Turkey’s controversial disinformation law against journalists has intensified concerns among media freedom organisations and opposition figures, who argue that the legislation has e

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ManyPress Editorial Team

ManyPress Editorial

May 19, 2026 · 5:41 AM2 min readSource: Balkan Insight (BIRN)
‘Controlling the Narrative’: Turkish Govt’s Disinformation Law Becomes a Weapon

The growing use of Turkey’s controversial disinformation law against journalists has intensified concerns among media freedom organisations and opposition figures, who argue that the legislation has evolved into a weapon designed to silence critical reporting rather than protect the public from false information. The 2022 law criminalises the “public dissemination of misleading information” and carries prison sentences of up to three years. From the moment it was proposed, press freedom advocate

According to a joint statement of Turkish and international press and rights groups, published on April 28, at least 83 journalists have faced 114 investigations or prosecutions under the law since its adoption. Several journalists have been detained or arrested despite reporting information that was later either verified or never officially disproven. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us

Key points

  • According to a joint statement of Turkish and international press and rights groups, published on April 28, at least 83 journalists have faced 114 investigations or prosecutions under the law since…
  • Several journalists have been detained or arrested despite reporting information that was later either verified or never officially disproven.
  • Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber.
  • Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more.
  • Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe.

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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Balkan Insight (BIRN).

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