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Turkish digital news outlet T24 said Thursday it remains operational despite an access block on its website and social media accounts, saying it is challenging the court decision and directing readers to its mobile application to continue accessing its journalism.
The Istanbul 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace ordered the restrictions as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office known as “Ailem Guvende,” or “My Family is Safe.”
Prosecutors said T24 had published 118 pieces of content over the past year that they described as “LGBT propaganda.” The order was sent to Türkiye’s Cyber Security Presidency for implementation.
The ruling was issued Sept. 29 and took effect Sept. 30 after being published by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, or BTK.
According to the court decision, an earlier request to block access had been rejected Sept. 25 before a subsequent appeal led to the restriction.
The order cited Article 8/A of Türkiye’s internet law and referred to the prevention of crime and protection of public order.
T24 stressed that the access restriction did not amount to the closure of the news organization.
“T24 has not closed; journalism cannot be shut down. Access to T24 content has been blocked,” T24 columnist Murat Sabuncu wrote on X.
“We are using every legal avenue to have this block lifted, and this mistake reversed. We are at work,” he added.
In a separate post, Sabuncu said T24 would continue reporting, saying journalism’s role was to give a voice to different parts of society and cover cases in which people face injustice.
T24 said it had also launched legal proceedings against the decision and disputed parts of the material used to support the order.
The outlet said 22 of the 57 authors linked to the 118 cited articles had stopped writing for T24 years ago.
It also said some of the articles published within the past year did not contain LGBT-related material.
While direct access to T24’s website has been restricted in Türkiye, the outlet has continued publishing and has directed readers to its free mobile application.
T24 was founded in 2009 and has operated as a digital news outlet for 17 years.
The organization says it will continue its journalism while pursuing its objections through available legal channels.
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