Media manipulation

Terrified onlookers crouch behind a wall as lights streak across the night sky in what self-proclaimed digital investigators claimed was footage of Iranian drones over Israel. But the video is months old, repurposed to sow misinformation.

Turkey is definitely not one of those countries that excel as standard-bearers when it comes to balanced reporting and media freedoms or media literacy. On the contrary, it usually appears in the international press for its - many - media deficiencies, whether it be censorship cases, propaganda-induced fake news or media ownership concentration issues.

TikTok Türkiye has announced the establishment of a team to monitor and remove content that manipulates news or disseminates disinformation regarding the local elections slated for March 31.

Amid growing concerns over the spread of misinformation and the misuse of artificial intelligence, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announces plans to establish a dedicated team to address these issues ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections in June, as reported by Reuters.

He added that disinformation weakens the social fabric.

James Rubin, special envoy and coordinator of the Center for Global Engagement at the US State Department, will visit Bulgaria this week, and according to the official announcement, his mission is "to strengthen support for initiatives to combat disinformation."

The election bans have started on May 4 according to the election calendar for the Presidential and 28th Term Parliamentary Elections, which will be held on May 14. Accordingly, surveys, opinion polls, and forecasts will no longer be published.

A woman checks her phone next to a banner showing the Twitter logo, in Istanbul, Turkey, 14 October 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

At a meeting dedicated to fake news organized by the Institute of Human Sciences and the Slovak Embassy in Vienna, Ker said that Russia and China have realized how with little investment they can cause huge damage.
"Russia in particular uses fake news as a weapon, with Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Slovakia most exposed to the threat of Russian disinformation," he explained.

The Turkish parliament adopted a law seeking up to three years in prison for those accused of spreading disinformation on Oct. 13.

The law proposed by the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) contains wide-ranging provisions covering domestic journalism as well as social media.