Cyber censorship is quickly becoming a weapon of choice for Turkish authorities looking to silence journalists in exile. At least five reporters have been targeted online, notably by having their social media accounts censored in Türkiye. Four of them are facing potential prison sentences as they are unjustly prosecuted — some of these lawsuits stretching over a decade. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Turkish authorities to put an end to this oppressive policy.
The Erdogan government’s long-established, systematic intimidation of journalists extends beyond Turkey’s borders, as documented by RSF. 2025 was characterised by digital censorship targeting several media professionals in exile, the Turkish government have designated as nemeses. They are: Can Dündar, founder of the news website Özgürüz; Metin Cihan, a freelance journalist; Amberin Zaman, a correspondent for the news site Al Monitor; Erk Acarer, a journalist, YouTuber, and commentator for Özgürüz; and Hayko Bagdat, a journalist and writer. Their so-called crimes are simply journalism: reports on heavy-duty trucks transporting ammunition to jihadist groups in Syria a decade ago under the supervision of Turkish intelligence services, or how maritime trade with Israel continued despite the war in Gaza, as well as articles and social media posts criticising President Erdogan’s political and economic policies.
“Journalists in exile are already struggling to fight back against the legal case against them that are underway in Türkiye, and last year they faced a censorship campaign specifically targeting the presence of their social media accounts in the country. The accusation of undermining national security — a pretext that is routinely exploited in the country — is increasingly being used to suppress information shared online by journalists in exile. We urge the Turkish authorities to end the relentless campaign aimed at discrediting media professionals and excluding them from the online news landscape — it’s depriving people in Türkiye of their right to reliable information.
The relentless persecution of Can Dündar by any means necessary
The relentless persecution that Can Dündar, the former editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet (“Republic”), has endured for several years is a clear example of the various methods employed by the Turkish government in its attempts to silence journalists. After being locked up in late 2015 following the publication of an article titled “Here are the weapons that Erdoğan says do not exist,” in May 2016, he was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison for “revealing state secrets” along with his colleague Erdem Gül.
After he was targeted by an armed attack outside the Istanbul Justice Palace, the journalist decided to go into exile in Germany, where he founded the Turkish-language news site Özgürüz (“We Are Free”). Dündar was ultimately sentenced in absentia in late 2020 to 27 years and 6 months in prison for “obtaining state information for the purpose of political or military espionage” and “supporting the illegal organisation of Fethullah Gülen,” who is portrayed as the mastermind behind the failed coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016.
After this legal ordeal and forced exile, the crackdown on the renowned journalist and winner of the 2015 RSF Press Freedom Award has not let up. All of his digital platforms are being targeted by censorship. On 23 October 2024, his X account, which has over 5.5 million followers, was censored by Turkish judges. He has now been forced to appeal to the Turkish Constitutional Court. When interviewed by RSF, Can Dündar condemned the strategy aimed at silencing him, which will have long-term consequences: “The government gives the orders and the judiciary carries them out. Unsurprisingly, our appeals to the Turkish courts have been repeatedly rejected. Now we will have to wait years for the Constitutional Court to issue its ruling. And perhaps even longer for the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights”.
His YouTube channel was censored in Türkiye on 5 September 2025, after he denounced “a legal coup targeting the main opposition party” — the Republican People’s Party (CHP) — and declared that the only solution left was to take to “the streets.” Nevertheless, he continues, with great difficulty, to report via his website Özgürüz, which has been the target of regular censorship attempts since its launch.
Journalists' X accounts targeted by censorship
Can Dündar’s account is not an exception; it was among a list of 178 accounts censored in Türkiye for posing a “threat to national security and public order,” including that of Amberin Zaman, the Middle East and North Africa correspondent for the news site Al Monitor who is an expert on Kurdish issues. It happened again on 25 March 2025: this time, the Ankara-based telecommunications authority, BTK, censored the X accounts of journalists Metin Cihan, Hayko Bagdat, and Erk Acarer who are in exile in Germany for the same reason. While X stated that it had no choice but to comply with this decision — which was later upheld by an Istanbul judge — it noted that it had filed a petition with the Turkish Constitutional Court to assert the right to information.
Like Can Dündar, these three journalists have also been facing legal troubles in Turkey for years, with numerous lawsuits having been filed against them. Due to an article published on 28 November 2023, on X, titled “While Israel was bombing Gaza, the ship owned by Burak Erdogan, the president’s son, was making deliveries from Israel,” Metin Cihan is being tried in absentia before the Istanbul Criminal Court on charges of “insult and defamation.” Facing a potential sentence of eight years in prison, his next hearing is scheduled for 15 September. Due to this intimidation, Metin Cihan was forced to put his career on hold, but insists that this is only temporary. “This is by no means a matter of giving up my profession,” he told RSF.
