Turkish journalists living in exile, speaking at a United Nations panel discussion in Geneva on Thursday, denounced increasing digital censorship by major tech companies, urging international accountability for platforms aiding authoritarian governments in silencing independent media, the TR724 news website reported.
The panel was organized by the Germany-based International Journalists Association (IJA) in partnership with the International Association for Human Rights Advocacy in Geneva (IAHRA Geneva).
The panelists pointed out how governments, in particular the Turkish government, misuse counterterrorism laws to stifle press freedom, and how digital giants such as X, YouTube and Google enable these repressive practices by complying with censorship requests and employing opaque algorithms.
Yasemin Aydın, the IJA’s director of international relations, described the new era of censorship as “platform authoritarianism.”
She argued that tech companies now play a direct role in restricting journalists’ ability to report independently, effectively acting as “tools of repression.”
“Journalism is not a crime, and telling the truth is not terrorism,” Aydın said. “Yet in Turkey and elsewhere, independent journalists face exile, imprisonment or digital erasure for simply reporting the truth.”
The panel discussion, moderated by Ricardo Espinosa of IAHRA Geneva, also included presentations by American journalist Edward Girardet and human rights advocate Katayoun Formica Hosseinnejad. Attendees discussed specific incidents where tech companies actively collaborated with authoritarian states, silencing journalists critical of government actions.
One striking example shared by Aydın involved Turkish journalist Cevheri Güven, whose popular YouTube channel experienced the blocking of access to over 250 videos in a single day, erasing years of investigative journalism. Güven is among nearly 400 journalists and media accounts blocked or suspended on X since October 2024.
“Blocking over 250 investigative reports is not content moderation — it’s systematic erasure of journalism,” Aydın said. “When YouTube blocks reports documenting corruption or human rights abuses and calls it ‘policy enforcement,’ that’s digital repression. When Google buries independent media behind propaganda outlets and labels it ‘algorithmic justice,’ that’s information warfare.”
Panelists and audience members, including representatives of eight countries, expressed broad support for greater accountability mechanisms that would hold technology platforms legally responsible at an international level.
“Just as the UN rightly demands answers from states imposing media bans, it must also question these corporate giants whose cooperation makes such repression possible,” Aydın said.
The Geneva panel discussion was held as Turkey continues to escalate pressure on independent media following the recent detention of journalists from opposition broadcaster Halk TV and of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition leader. According to the panelists, Turkey frequently uses its sweeping counterterrorism laws to justify actions against journalists, labeling critical reporting as threats to national security.
Güven, who attended the panel discussion along with fellow Turkish journalist Fatih Akalan, gave multiple interviews to international media during the event. He detailed how his journalism, much of it critical of the administration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was systematically silenced online, in particular through algorithmic manipulation and sudden account closures.
The recent closure of Duvar, one of Turkey’s last independent news websites, was also mentioned during the discussion. Duvar ceased operations after losing significant online traffic, reportedly due to algorithmic changes by Google that favored pro-government sources.
The IJA pledged to continue documenting censorship incidents and advocating for international scrutiny. The association plans to organize further panels and publish reports in collaboration with international human rights organizations and media groups.
Over the past few months X has blocked dozens of accounts belonging to Turkish journalists, activists and media organizations, including those operated by journalists living in exile. Some of these accounts had hundreds of thousands of followers.
X, which appointed a representative in Turkey after the introduction of a controversial 2020 social media law, has faced criticism for its compliance with Turkish censorship demands. The law, which requires social media companies with over 1 million users to maintain representatives in Turkey, was widely condemned by human rights and press freedom groups as a tool for state control over digital platforms.
In the lead-up to Turkey’s May 2023 general election, X complied with government requests to censor four accounts and 409 tweets critical of President Erdoğan and his government. The platform had previously been banned in Turkey in 2014 after refusing to comply with government takedown requests.
Erdoğan and X owner Elon Musk have held a series of meetings both in Turkey and on the sidelines of international forums, seemingly developing a friendship.
Press freedom in Turkey has been in decline for years, with increasing reports of censorship, arrests and legal pressure on journalists. Human rights groups warn that these latest restrictions represent a significant threat to the free press and the public’s right to independent information.