Approved by Turkey’s parliament on Thursday, October 13, a stringent pre-election law could lead to a three-year jail term for reporters and social media users found guilty of spreading “fake news”.
The newly introduced regulations further solidify the government’s control over the media just eight months before a general election, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan trails in the polls.
The Council of Europe expressed concerns over the vague definition of “disinformation” in the measure and the potential chilling effect and increased self-censorship it may induce, particularly in light of the upcoming elections in June 2023.
The legislation, comprised of 40 amendments, was proposed by Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted AKP party and fiercely contested by Turkey’s main opposition groups.
A member of the secular CHP party demonstrated his opposition by smashing his mobile phone with a hammer in parliament, symbolizing the destruction of freedom of expression, particularly for the youth.
“I would like to address my brothers who are 15, 16, 17 years old and who will be deciding the fate of Turkey in 2023,” CHP lawmaker Burak Erbay said before taking out his hammer,
He continued, “You have only one freedom left — the phone in your pocket. There’s Instagram, YouTube, Facebook. You communicate there. If the law here passes in parliament, you can break your phone like this.”
In addition to these measures, the government has initiated the publication of a weekly “disinformation bulletin” aimed at debunking what it believes to be false news with “accurate and truthful information”.
Despite various opposition attempts, lawmakers rejected any amendments to dilute the legislation before the vote.
“This law declares war on the truth,” pro-Kurdish opposition HDP party lawmaker Meral Danis Bektas stated.