How Do Pro-government Media Outlets See SETA Report on Journalists?

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We have compiled how pro-government dailies Sabah, Akşam, Star, Yeni Şafak, Yeni Akit, Takvim, Güneş and Türkiye have reported on the "International Media Outlets' Extensions in Turkey" report released by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA).

While the report, which was shared by the Foundation on July 6, was not reported in any of these newspapers on their July 7 issues, it is only daily Sabah which reported on the issue in its printed edition today (July 8).

On the front page of Sabah, it is stated, "The SETA has unmasked the foreign press carrying out operations on Turkey." The newspaper allocated a whole page to the report on page 14.

Altınok: Information acquired from open sources

Melih Altınok, a columnist for pro-government daily Sabah, has penned an article entitled "It is almost a genocide" and argued that "the report was prepared entirely based on information acquired from open sources."

Altınok has also criticized the report in following aspects: "The only criticism that I can level at the SETA is that, in analyzing the political stances of journalists, they cited examples like 'They retweeted this and that.' These examples have damaged the seriousness of the report."

Kaplan: What part of it is blacklisting?

Hilal Kaplan, another columnist for Sabah, has also stated on Twitter,

"The SETA report is a study made by entirely using open sources. What part of it is blacklisting? There is no confidential and personal information. Or, do the ones working in international media outlets prefer that this information be considered confidential?"

SETA statement published by Akşam only online

While the daily Akşam has not reported on the content of the SETA report at all, its website has made news on the statement that the Foundation released in response to the criticisms.

Emin Pazarcı, a columnist for Akşam, has written on Twitter, "SETA Report: 'International media organizations and its extensions operating in Turkey are not impartial, but univocal.' There was actually no need to work or report on it. They are here for that reason. They do not bother to inform the public. There are reporting to direct the society!"

Serkan Fıçıcı, another columnist for the pro-government Akşam, has also shared two messages on Twitter in support of the SETA report.

Çelik from Yeni Şafak: It is blacklisting

While the daily Yeni Şafak has not reported on the report, Ersin Çelik, the Editor-in-Chief of its website, has denounced the report in following words:

"The followers' lists and their retweets of other journalists are not something mysterious. But, preparing a report out of them by 'filtering' falls within the scope of blacklisting. Blacklisting would not be open to the public, though. This study is a serious ineptness in itself. It is disturbing. It should be withdrawn and an apology should be made."

Selek from Türkiye: Its style and tone not right

Türkiye, another pro-government daily, has not made any news on the SETA report, either. In his article "What does that media report show", Türkiye columnist Fatih Selek has stated, "Its style and tone are not right."

Further in his article, Fatih Selek has stated that the report in question is not a document of blacklisting.

Kökçe from Star: An important study

Halime Kökçe from the daily Star has written on Twitter, "It is an important report. It is an important study that reveals with concrete evidence how international media outlets and actors are taking attitudes towards Turkey's domestic political processes and, even, security issues such as terrorism and what kind of relations they have developed with which domestic actors."

'They have been exposed'

While pro-government dailies Akit and Takvim have not reported on the issue in their printed editions, they have reported on it on their websites.

While Akit has reported, "They have been exposed! The CHP's media has protected the agent journalists," Takvim has stated, "The dirty laundry of the foreign media outlets has been aired in public." (EKN/SD)