Elon Musk denounced after X agrees to Turkey's censorship requests

Elon Musk, the owner and executive chairman of social media platform X, has been criticized by human rights organizations and journalists for the platform's cooperation with the Turkish government in blocking a large number of accounts in the country, including those of some well-known journalists and news outlets.

According to the Turkish freedom of expression organization IFOD, a criminal court in Ankara approved a government request on February 5 for access bans on 126 accounts, citing "protection of national security and public order." This highlights the ongoing tension between government control and freedom of expression online.

The blocked accounts mainly belonged to individuals and media outlets associated with the Gülen movement, which Turkey accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt, as well as individuals and media outlets associated with pro-Kurdish, left-wing, and liberal leanings. Some of the prominent media outlets blocked include the left-leaning Arti Gercek and Yeni Yasam, the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency (MA), and the Kurdish media outlet Jin News, which focuses on women's issues.

Among the journalists blocked were Berlin-based Hayko Bagdat, who has over one million followers on X, and independent journalist Metin Cihan, who has been covering Turkey's trade relations with Israel during the Gaza war. Bagdat, who has been living in Germany since 2016 due to threats and harassment in Turkey, told Middle East Eye that authoritarianism is becoming commonplace around the world, and Musk is helping to facilitate it. He further added that platforms like X allow Turkish dissidents to maintain a presence in the country from exile, which "greatly bothers" the government.

IFOD founder Yaman Akdeniz stated: "Recent developments indicate that Elon Musk's X platform has effectively become an extension of Turkish law enforcement." Bagdat said: "Despite having 1.2 million followers and a verified account on X, and being active for 20 years, my account was shut down by a local court ruling. In a world where figures like Elon Musk wield influence, we need to repeatedly discuss the concept of freedom of expression." This underscores the importance of platform accountability in upholding democratic values.

Musk, who describes himself as an "absolute free speech absolutist," has dramatically increased the number of government-submitted removal requests he has approved since taking over the company formerly known as Twitter in 2022. According to a transparency report released by X last year, and a review of past disclosures by The Washington Post, the social media site took action on 71% of the legal requests it received to remove content in the first half of 2024, a 20% increase from figures reported before 2021. The report stated that X had taken action on 68% of cases presented by Turkey, reaching 9,364 requests in the first half of 2024.

Yaman Akdeniz told Middle East Eye: "Under the previous management, Twitter would challenge censorship decisions and resist government orders, especially regarding accounts of journalists and media organizations. However, recent developments indicate that Elon Musk's X platform has effectively become an extension of Turkish law enforcement. As X rapidly complies with government removal requests and blocks accounts within Turkey, this pattern is likely to continue, further eroding freedom of expression in the country." This shift in approach raises serious concerns about the future of online dissent in Turkey.

For years, Turkey has frequently been described by media freedom organizations as the world's leading jailer of journalists. The Turkish human rights organization Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) stated on January 6 that at least 30 journalists and media workers were imprisoned in the country, with 4 under house arrest. The organization said they monitored 281 freedom of expression trials involving 1,856 defendants in 2024, 366 of whom were journalists. The crackdown on critical journalists has escalated following the 2016 coup attempt.

Last month, prosecutors launched an investigation into the Istanbul Bar Association, accusing it of "disseminating terrorist propaganda," alleging links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the armed group that has been waging a guerrilla war against Turkey since 1984. This followed the lawyers' call for an investigation into the deaths of two Kurdish journalists, Cihan Bilgin and Nazim Dastan, who were killed in Syria in late December in what is suspected to be a Turkish drone strike. Ankara has intensified its crackdown on Kurdish-led groups controlling large parts of northern Syria since the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December. Turkey accuses these groups of being offshoots of the PKK.

Bagdat told Middle East Eye: "In Turkey, the Erdogan regime is attacking the opposition every day with new court rulings and police pressure to permanently suppress the pursuit of democracy and equality. At the same time, developments in Syria have further led to attacks on voices sensitive to the Kurdish issue." This paints a grim picture of the ongoing suppression of dissent and the challenges faced by journalists and activists in Turkey.