SETA Report on Journalists to be Taken to Court, SETA Says It is a ‘Scientific Study’

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The Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) and Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) have announced that they will file a criminal complaint against the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) report targeting journalists working in international media outlets.

On July 6, the Foundation published a report entitled "International Media Outlets' Extensions in Turkey". The report has listed the professional backgrounds and social media posts of journalists working at BBC Türkçe, Deutsche Welle Türkçe, the Voice of America, Sputnik Turkey, Euronews Turkey, Independent Turkey and China Radio International (CRI) Turkey. The report has accused these organizations of "carrying out a perception work."

Citing the social media posts and retweets of the journalists, the SETA has also referred to the newspapers and news websites BirGün, T24, bianet, Evrensel, Cumhuriyet, Diken, DW Türkçe and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as "the media that come to the fore with their anti-government news."

Report to be taken to court

In response to this report, which has sparked outrage on social media especially among journalists, the TGS has announced that they will be in front of İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse with the blacklisted journalists and file a criminal complaint against the report today (July 8).

The MLSA has also stated that they will take the report to the court. Sharing a message on its Twitter account, the Association has said,

"Ankara-based think-tank SETA has prepared a report titled 'International Media Outlets' Extensions in Turkey.' It's structured almost like an indictment, practically blacklisting & criminalizing many journos who work for BBC Türkçe, DW Türkçe, VoA, Sputnik Turkey and others.

"MLSA will be filing a criminal complaint against pro-government think tank SETA's outrageous report titled "Int'l Media Outlets' Extensions in Turkey" on grounds that it's an attempt to blacklist and target journalists who are listed in the report. #JournalismIsNotACrime."

The MLSA previously posted another message about the report and stated, "Alarming 'research' report from pro-government think tank SETA calls journalists employed by int'l press 'extensions', targets journalists by name. Feel of it is like a Stalin-era ĶGB report on dissenters . Quite unnerving."

Statement by SETA: It is a scientific study

As the report has caused outrage due to its targeting and blacklisting attitude towards the journalists working in the international media organizations in Turkey, the Foundation has released a statement regarding the report:

"The activities of international media outlets in Turkey have long been discussed by the public. The focal point of these discussions was that they have a univocal line of reporting. Nevertheless, international media outlets were arguing that they were engaging in multivocal and objective reporting."

Stating that "as the SETA, they wanted to make a concrete contribution to these discussions, which were proceeding on a rhetorical level", the Foundation has argued that "the report entitled 'International Media Outlets' Extensions in Turkey' is the product of this effort."

Concluding its report, the SETA has further claimed, "It is a deliberate accusation to describe a scientific study shared with the public transparently and based on a social media analysis of being a memorandum."

About SETA Foundation

On its official website, the SETA Foundation has introduced itself as follows:

"SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research is a non-profit research institute dedicated to innovative studies on national, regional, and international issues. The objective of SETA is to produce up-to-date and accurate knowledge and analyses in the fields of politics, economy and society and inform policy makers and the public on changing political, economic, social and cultural conditions. SETA evaluates national and international issues in an historical and cultural context." (TP/SD)