Turkey's media authority fines Netflix, others for 'immorality'
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After its monthly meeting, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has fined several TV outlets and on-demand platforms over movies and shows that included "immoral" scenes and dialogues.
The council fined Netflix over the movie "More the Merrier" (Donde caben dos in Spanish), a comedy movie about sexual experiences of a group of people.
"Five interspersed stories provide a fun romp through a night of sex and possibilities in which nothing goes as planned but everyone gets what they need," says the Netflix description of the movie.
In its verdict, the council said the movie was "based on a fiction in which homosexuality, incest relationships and swinging are intensely experienced."
Concluding that this was against the "spiritual values of the public" and "general morality" it issued an administrative monetary fine on Netflix and ordered the removal of the movie from the platform.
"Normalizing immorality"
The RTÜK also issued a monetary fine on FOX TV on "morality" grounds because of dialogues in the TV series "The Forbidden Apple" (Yasak Elma in Turkish).
"There are two friends who hang around at each other's homes. One of them is together with the other's husband ... They talk about it as if it happens for the first time in the world. Everyone does that nowadays," was one of the lines that was against "general morality," according to the council.
Another line was, "Everybody calls me a mistress but the man neither thinks about his family nor his wife."
These dialogues include "negative jokes about the concept of family," "humiliate women cheated by their husbands," and normalize the word "mistress," which has a negative meaning.
Fine on stand up show for swearing
The RTÜK fined Exxen, an on-demand platform based in Turkey, over the last episode of a stand up show titled "The Talking Ones" (Konuşanlar) and ordered the removal of the episode.
The episode included "vulgar expressions that go beyond humor" and "expressions that shouldn't even be mentioned in a production," according to RTÜK.
Fines for criticizing Erdoğan
The council fined Halk TV and TELE 1 over criticisms of government officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during political discussion programs.
Halk TV received two separate fines because of a guest's remarks targeting President of Religious Affairs Ali Erbaş during one program and a pundit's words on President Erdoğan and his ally Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) during another.
TELE 1 was fined because of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Engin Altay called Erdoğan a "dictator" during a program he attended. (HA/VK)