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Turkey has become both a refuge for journalists fleeing conflicts in the region and a source of media exile as the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expands its campaign against independent reporting, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Friday.
At least 46 journalists forced to leave Afghanistan, Palestine or Syria have settled in Turkey since 2021, according to new data from RSF.
During the same period at least 10 journalists working in Turkey fled the country with help from the organization.
RSF warned that its figure includes only journalists who received assistance through its programs. The actual number who left Turkey between 2021 and 2025 runs into the dozens, the group said.
The findings, released ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, highlight the contradiction in Turkey’s role. The country serves as a first destination for reporters escaping armed conflict and political repression, while Turkish journalists face prosecution, detention, censorship and financial pressure that can make independent reporting impossible.
Worldwide, RSF supported 1,468 reporters from 65 countries who were forced to flee threats, imprisonment or death between 2021 and 2025.
The number of countries from which journalists receiving RSF assistance fled more than doubled over five years, rising from 19 in 2021 to 40 in 2025.
Turkey fell four places to rank 163rd among 180 countries and territories in RSF’s 2026 World Press Freedom Index. Its score declined from 29.40 in 2025 to 27.94 in 2026.
RSF says about 90 percent of Turkey’s national media outlets are under government control, leaving independent television stations, newspapers and news websites to operate under political, legal and financial pressure.
The organization said authorities use counterterrorism legislation along with charges of spreading disinformation, insulting the president and denigrating state institutions to investigate, prosecute and imprison journalists.
Since Turkey’s 2023 elections, arrests and police violence have become common tools against journalists covering rallies and protests, according to RSF. Authorities also use internet restrictions, court-ordered content removals and penalties imposed by the country’s broadcasting regulator against critical outlets.
An international press freedom mission that visited Ankara in November 2025 described the pressure as a “systemic siege” on independent journalism.
The mission, which included RSF, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute, Amnesty International and other groups, found that Turkish courts had expanded the use of house arrest, travel bans and other judicial restrictions against reporters.
Police raids on journalists’ homes and the confiscation of phones and computers have also become frequent, the mission said. It found that prosecutors continued to rely on broad counterterrorism and disinformation provisions to criminalize reporting on matters of public interest.
Turkey recorded the second-highest number of press freedom violations on the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform in 2025 and the third-highest number in the Mapping Media Freedom database, according to the mission.
Leaving Turkey has not ended the government pressure faced by critical reporters.
RSF said in April that Turkish authorities had targeted at least five journalists living abroad by restricting access to their social media accounts inside Turkey.
The journalists were Can Dündar, Metin Cihan, Amberin Zaman, Erk Acarer and Hayko Bağdat. Four also faced possible prison sentences in cases pending in Turkey.
RSF urged countries receiving exiled journalists to provide long-term visas, residence and work permits and protection against forced return to countries where they face persecution.
It also called for systems allowing exiled journalists to report threats and transnational repression to police, along with public funding, tax support and workspaces for media organizations operating in exile.