Turkish court blocks independent news portal T24 over 'LGBT propaganda' allegations

On September 30, 2026, the Istanbul 1st Criminal Court of Peace ordered an access ban on the website and official X (formerly Twitter) account of T24, one of Turkey’s leading independent digital news portals. The ruling was issued following a petition from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of the nationwide “My Family is Safe” (Ailem Güvende) operation, reports Turkish outlet Medyascope .

According to prosecutors, T24 published 118 articles over the past year deemed to contain “LGBT propaganda.” The court order, issued under Article 8/A of Internet Law No. 5651 “to prevent crime and protect public order,” claimed that these publications aimed to “disrupt the family order, weaken the Turkish family structure,” and “adversely affect the developmental processes of young people and minors regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.” Implementation of the ban was referred to Turkey’s Cyber Security Department.

T24’s editorial board and founder Doğan Akın strongly rejected the allegations and announced immediate legal appeals, emphasizing that the newsroom continues its reporting. In an editorial titled “Talking with Turkey: How could access to T24 be blocked!” , journalists highlighted major factual errors in the case file: of the 57 authors whose bylines appeared on the 118 cited articles, 22 had left the organization years ago and had not published anything on T24 during the past year. Furthermore, several listed pieces contained no references to LGBT issues. The publication also noted that the judge had initially rejected the prosecutor’s request before reversing course on an appeal, adding that Turkish law calls for targeted URL removals rather than blanket blocks of an entire news organization.

Founded in 2009 by prominent journalist Doğan Akın, T24 is widely regarded as one of Turkey’s most respected independent digital platforms, known for investigative reporting and commentary across the political spectrum. The “My Family is Safe” campaign, launched in September 2026 across 15 provinces, has been framed by authorities as an effort to shield minors and curb illicit online content, while press freedom advocates and civil society groups describe it as a broad assault on free speech and independent journalism.

Uránia previously reported that mass arrests and LGBT website bans took place across Turkey : in mid-September 2026, authorities blocked online resources of prominent human rights groups including Kaos GL and SPoD and conducted coordinated police raids.