On 30 September, readers in Turkey lost access to T24's website after a court ordered restrictions on the independent news outlet over allegations of "LGBT propaganda". The decision followed weeks of raids and online censorship affecting rights groups and journalists. Now, a newsroom that has spent 17 years reporting on the country faces a barrier between its work and the people it serves.
By The Levant Files Editorial Team
Reporting and Commentary | 1 October 2026
What the Court Ordered
The Freedom of Expression Association, known as İFÖD, identifies the order as decision 2026/8894, issued on 29 September by Istanbul's First Criminal Judgeship of Peace. It covers t24.com.tr and the outlet's X account. The website block took effect the following day. İFÖD's record of the decision establishes the chronology.
The Justice Ministry said authorities had identified 118 items published over the preceding year that they considered "LGBT propaganda". The proceedings belong to the investigation called "Ailem Güvende", or "My Family Is Safe", which the government presents as a defence of children and family values. Reuters reported the ministry's account.
That description is the authorities' allegation. According to bianet, the judgeship also ordered the removal of the 118 articles individually. Its late-evening report on 30 September said T24's X account remained accessible within Turkey at that point, despite the order. Platform implementation matters here: a restriction on access does not establish that the newsroom has stopped working or that its reporting has disappeared worldwide.
T24's subsequent reporting places the decision under Article 8/A of Internet Law No. 5651, citing crime prevention and public order. It also says an initial blocking request was rejected on 25 September before an objection produced the later order. Those details deserve scrutiny. Readers should be able to see the reasoning used to restrict an entire news organisation. T24's account of the legal sequence sets them out.
A Newsroom Learns Through a Ministry Announcement
T24 says the Justice Ministry circulated the announcement in press WhatsApp groups before the outlet received formal notification. An email from the Cyber Security Presidency arrived that evening. The newsroom also describes an earlier campaign on X in which different accounts circulated identical videos and wording, accusing it of receiving outside funding and attacking the family. These are T24's descriptions of what happened, rather than independently established findings about who organised the campaign.
Founded on 1 September 2009, T24 has become a familiar source for readers following Turkish politics. Its report on international coverage notes that Reuters' dispatch appeared in Kathimerini, while France 24 carried AFP's report. AFP quoted foreign news editor Buse Söğütlü describing the restriction as a blow against journalism itself. T24's roundup records that response.
September's Raids Reached the Press
The arrests came first. Human Rights Watch documented coordinated raids on 12–14 September targeting seven LGBT rights groups and two organisations supporting people living with HIV, alongside bars and nightclubs. Its 18 September report recorded at least 112 arrests, with 82 people still detained under court orders.
One case brings the danger to journalism into sharp focus. Human Rights Watch said the only evidence a prosecutor cited against journalist Tuğba Tekerek was a 2024 report about LGBT rights in Georgia, published on the Kaos news website. The organisation also documented a Justice Ministry circular encouraging prosecutors to investigate specified content and seek its removal or blocking. Human Rights Watch's findings connect the raids with restrictions on expression.
Amnesty International experienced the censorship directly. On 14 September, X informed its Turkish branch that its account had been blocked following a decision communicated under Article 8/A. It remained visible abroad. In its statement the next day, Amnesty reported that over 180 social media accounts had been blocked or restricted, including accounts belonging to journalists and media outlets. Amnesty's statement describes the widening reach.
Restrictions Beyond the Family Campaign
The subjects vary. On 28 September, İFÖD recorded restrictions on X accounts belonging to Bizim TV and journalists, including BirGün reporters Meral Danyıldız and Sarya Toprak and ANKA courthouse reporter Esra Tokat. Two days later, it documented at least 147 accounts blocked after posting about a fund crisis. These are separately documented measures, and the available evidence does not establish that every case belongs to the same investigation. The journalist account restrictions and the fund-related blocks show how widely the pressure has spread.
Earlier this year, the barriers were physical as well as digital. On 25 June, the Associated Press reported that journalism groups said T24, Halk TV, Sözcü TV, Cumhuriyet and ANKA had been denied accreditation for the forthcoming NATO summit in Ankara. According to the groups, the applicants received neither reasons nor an opportunity to appeal. NATO said it relied on the host country to assess domestic journalists. AP's report documents that exclusion.
Prison has been another threat. A 4 June statement signed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute and other organisations described BirGün investigative reporter İsmail Arı as having spent 75 days behind bars ahead of a scheduled hearing. They said his case rested on his journalistic work and included a charge under the disinformation law. That statement describes his position in June, without establishing his present custody status. The joint statement explains the concerns.
The Reader Pays, Too
For a T24 reader trying to follow a court case or understand an economic decision, a website block interrupts an ordinary habit: opening a trusted source and checking what happened. Finding another route takes effort. Some readers will manage it. Others will lose contact with reporting they relied on.
Our assessment is that these measures, taken together, place independent journalism under pressure at several points: gathering news, publishing it and reaching an audience. The cases have different legal histories. Their cumulative effect on the public's access to information deserves attention, especially when coverage of an already vulnerable community becomes grounds for restricting a whole outlet.
The Levant Files Stands With T24
In these dark and challenging times, The Levant Files stands with T24 and with all independent media working under intimidation, censorship and the threat of prosecution.
We stand with T24's reporters and editors as they continue their work, and with readers whose access to that work has been obstructed. Our solidarity also extends to LGBT people and rights defenders targeted in the campaign surrounding this decision. Their lives deserve fair reporting, with the care and accuracy any person should expect from a newsroom.
We call for the restrictions on T24 to be lifted and for Turkish authorities to end measures that punish legitimate journalism. For readers beyond Turkey, there are practical ways to help: follow T24's reporting, share its work responsibly and, where possible, support it through the subscription page linked by the outlet. We ask fellow publications to keep reporting on this case after the first headlines fade.
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