Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), increasingly described by critics as a political pressure tool against the media, has released its 2025 record marked by censorship, broadcast blackouts, program suspensions, and content removals. According to the report, RTÜK issued 99 sanction decisions and imposed administrative fines totaling 146.7 million lira on 32 different media outlets.
RTÜK board member Tuncay Keser said that 2025 was a particularly difficult year for critical journalism, noting that news and commentary programs were subjected to extensive penalties. He confirmed that RTÜK handed down 99 sanctions during the year and fined 32 institutions.
Data shared by Keser show that RTÜK imposed sanctions on national television channels, digital platforms, and radio broadcasters, mostly on the grounds of alleged violations of broadcasting principles. During this period, a total of 25 days of broadcast blackouts were ordered. SZC TV was taken off air for 10 days, while Tele 1 was suspended for five days.
Penalties Targeting News and Commentary Programs
In addition, seven programs aired on NOW, Halk TV, TELE1, and Sözcü TV were suspended a total of 29 times. On digital platforms, 10 titles were removed from the catalogs of Netflix, Prime Video, MUBİ, HBO Max, Disney XD, and Spotify.
Keser emphasized that 61 of the 99 sanctions targeted national television channels, with fines in this category amounting to 141.7 million lira. News and commentary programs were the most heavily affected, often cited for allegedly exceeding the limits of criticism or violating the presumption of innocence. In total, 54 sanctions were imposed in this category.
Keser further stated that 45 of these 54 penalties were directed at three broadcasters known for their critical reporting. Accordingly, Sözcü TV received 16 sanctions (15 fines, 13 program suspensions, and a 10-day broadcast ban), TELE1 received 15 sanctions (15 fines, five program suspensions, and a five-day broadcast ban), and Halk TV was hit with 14 sanctions (13 fines, eight program suspensions, and a 10-day broadcast ban). NOW TV also received five separate penalties related to news and commentary programming.