After 22 years of working as a journalist at Hurriyet, she was fired by the new owners after the newspaper’s purchase in 2019. She now works for an NGO, while she, along with many other Turkish journalists are awaiting clarifications on her future at the presidential elections scheduled for May.

Tuna has witnessed first-hand the Erdogan regime’s gradual takeover of the Turkish media. More than 90 percent of Turkey’s media are owned by people who have close ties with the presidential palace. Hurriyet, the last newspaper under Erdogan’s control, was owned by people with close ties to the presidential palace.

Banu Tuna’s opportunities to do critical journalism were taken away. She wrote an article on the environmental impact caused by the construction of a Russian gas pipeline. The article was printed but the next day, it had disappeared from the internet.

“I didn’t ask for an answer,” she says. “It was obvious what happened.” Later, I heard that the Ministry of Energy had called me.

Self-censorship is a valuable tool for learning.

Mustafa Kuleili is the president of Turkey’s Journalist’s Union (TGS) as well as vice-president of European Federation of Journalists.

“In 2013, they began to censor media outlets in a direct manner. They began to call the editors-in-chiefs and ask them to cut the live broadcast or edit graphics on the screen. He says it became a routine.

Since then, Erdogan’s grip on the media has been tightened. Particularly after the failed 2016 coup attempt, which resulted to the closure of 54 newspapers and 24 radio stations.

Officially, it was to stop “disinformation”, “fake News” and “misinformation”. According to the President, Turkey is among the countries most affected by fake news in the world.

Journalists are now accustomed to self-censorship and it is rare for the government or other authorities to do so. People in the established media are aware that they must stay under the radar to avoid getting into trouble.

“People no longer even attempt to do critical journalism.” You learn how to behave if you work in the Turkish progovernment media for many years. “It’s like psychological torture,” says Chairman.

Tuna has lost all recognition of the newspaper she worked at for over two decades. She claims that even the front page is beyond the control of journalists: “We used publish the nationwide edition Hurriyet at midnight, but now it happens much later.”

“Every night, the front page of the newspaper is sent to a different location where there are changes. I know where it is but it has not been announced. “But that place isn’t in Hurriyet,” says she.

One of the editors at Hurriyet confirmed, in writing, that Tuna’s quote may have been influenced by political interests.

The front page can sometimes be a sign of approval, especially when it contains important information about Erdogan’s government. “I saw this first-hand.”

“The approval place should be the Directorate of Communications but, as you can imagine, this isn’t something that’s happening publicly or official. WhatsApp is used for this. But again, it’s not something that happens every day,” wrote the editor in the reply.

The source refused to be named.

Twitter blackout

Twitter was temporarily shut down for Turkish users for 12 hours shortly after the devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria at the beginning of February. This is just one of many steps taken by Turkish lawmakers to “fight misinformation”.

According to NetBlocks, “the restoration came after authorities held a conference with Twitter to “remind Twitter its obligations” regarding content takedowns or disinformation.”

Veysel OK, one of Turkey’s most prominent lawyers on freedoms of press and expression, is concerned that the government may do something similar during the upcoming elections. “Maybe they shut down everything.” Then we will wake up to see that they won.

In 2017, Ok co-founded Media and Law Studies Association in response to the developments in Turkey following the coup attempt. The organisation monitors and advises over 200 clients, most of whom are journalists, on all cases of freedom of expression in Turkey.

You can also advise them on their rights in accordance with international bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights.

He is helping several Turkish journalists who are having difficulties while covering the earthquakes.

“After the earthquakes it is even more difficult for reporters to report,” says he. “They are not allowed” to cover the events. They are asked to present a press card or accreditation even though it is not required.

According to MLSA’s count, four journalists have been detained by the police between 6-13 Febuary while nine others reported that they were prevented from filming.

Forgetting to think freely

“Either this will be a moment of freedom or a tragedy.”

Mustafa Kuleili began shooting a documentary that will culminate in the night of the elections. He is confident that the elections will be a new beginning for journalism in Turkey. If there is a change in power.

“It would bring a lot of relief to Turkish journalists, and we’d see many changes in our media landscape.” He says we will see new TV stations, new websites and newspapers, as well as new faces on television. “If Erdogan wins it will be a mental collapse for those who hold democratic and Western ideals.”

Tuna dreams of returning as a journalist. Tuna is waiting with bated breath for the results of the elections, as she hopes for the same freedom that protesters ten years ago in Gezi Park experienced.

Do you believe that press freedom will be restored in Turkey if a new government is elected?

“Yes, but you will need time,” she replies.

“We’ve kind of forgotten what it means to think critically and with freedom.” We have a new generation of journalists who have learned the profession in its current form, which has nothing whatsoever to do with journalism.

“It will be a long time before we are able to regain our abilities,” she says.