An overwhelming majority of Turks feel unsure and anxious when they post messages on social media, an apparent result of increasing government scrutiny of people who express critical views on online platforms, the results of a recent survey show.
The survey, conducted by the İstanbul-based Areda Survey, with the participation of 3,307 people July 29-31, showed that 63.2 percent of respondents feel anxious when they express their views on social media.
Similar surveys conducted by the company in 2021 and 2022 showed that there was a growing number of people who felt unsure about their social media posts over the past three years.
In 2021 34.5 percent of respondents felt anxious about their social media posts, while it was 43 percent in 2022.
With regard to gender distribution, men are more concerned about their social media posts in comparison to women. While 66.9 percent of the men in this year’s survey said they feel insecure about their social media posts, 59.5 percent of the women said the same.
In terms of age group, those aged over 55 have a high anxiety level, with 68.1 percent feeling anxious when expressing their views on social media. They are followed by 62.2 percent of the 18-34 age group and 60.6 percent of those aged 35-54.
The survey’s results come at a time when detention or prosecution of people for simply expressing a view on their social media accounts is a daily occurrence in Turkey.
The frequency of prosecution of people is so widespread in Turkey that the German Foreign Ministry had to warn its citizens in a travel advisory earlier this month about the risks of traveling to Turkey, including the possibility of prosecution for social media posts.
The advisory warned German citizens that actions protected under freedom of expression in Germany—such as social media posts, comments, or even simply liking content—could lead to prosecution in Turkey.
A report released by the US-based Freedom House in October showed that internet freedom in Turkey has steadily declined over the past decade, with the country again ranking among the “not free” countries concerning online freedoms.
Turkey has a score of 30 in a 100-point index, with scores based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free).
A new media law, known as the “disinformation law,” passed by the Turkish parliament in October 2022 is also seen as contributing to the declining internet freedoms in the country as reporters and social media users could be jailed for up to three years for spreading “fake news.”