Turkish authorities blocked six news reports about Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek in a single court ruling during the week of Oct. 19-25, while the X account of Yeni Yaşam newspaper was restricted for the ninth time and the social media accounts of Halk TV, which was placed under trusteeship, faced further restrictions.
According to the Media and Law Studies Association's (MLSA) weekly Free Web monitoring bulletin, restrictions targeting news websites and journalists' social media accounts continued throughout the week.
On Oct. 21, the Ankara 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued a single ruling blocking access to six news reports about Şimşek.
Under Decision No. 2026/15427, one news report each from Gazete Pencere, soL Haber, Diken, Sözcü, Yurtsever and 10Haber was blocked.
The reports featured photographs of Şimşek with a contractor who had been arrested on various criminal allegations, as well as statements made by the minister about the case.
One of the blocked reports covered Şimşek's statement that he did not know the contractor.
The court cited Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, Turkey's internet regulation law, as the legal basis for the restrictions.
Economic commentator's X account blocked
The Ankara 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace also ordered an access restriction on the X account @AhmetBeyefendi, which had approximately 137,000 followers, on Oct. 21.
The account, which posted commentary on the economy, capital markets and political developments, was restricted under Decision No. 2026/15325. X enforced the order, making the account inaccessible to users in Turkey.
The decision followed restrictions on other economic commentators' accounts after an investment fund scandal emerged in September, affecting hundreds of thousands of investors.
Yeni Yaşam's X account blocked for ninth time
Yeni Yaşam newspaper's X account was blocked for the ninth time on Oct. 21 following a ruling by the Manisa 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace in western Turkey.
X enforced the restriction, making the account inaccessible in Turkey.
The newspaper's Instagram account had been suspended on Oct. 16, while its TikTok account had also been shut down. Yeni Yaşam continued sharing its news reports through a newly created account.
In a statement, the newspaper said it rejected censorship targeting independent and opposition media. It pledged to continue defending the public's right to information and called for solidarity against censorship.
Local newspaper blocked after questioning lawmaker's brother
The owner of Şehir Gazetesi, a local newspaper in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa, had questioned why the elder brother of a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had not been arrested as part of an investigation into Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.
The newspaper's owner subsequently shared a page from a report prepared as part of the investigation that mentioned a company owned by the lawmaker's brother's family.
The access restriction was imposed following a complaint by the lawmaker's brother. Neither the court that issued the ruling nor the decision number was disclosed.
The complainant's lawyer said the allegations were baseless and announced plans to file a criminal complaint.
Halk TV's X and YouTube accounts blocked
The X account of Halk TV, which has approximately 3 million followers, was made inaccessible in Turkey on Oct. 21 after the broadcaster was placed under trusteeship.
The access restriction order had been issued on Oct. 14, the same day Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) was appointed trustee of the broadcaster.
The order cited Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, but X initially did not enforce it.
The account's username was changed in the meantime, but the restriction was subsequently applied to the new username as well.
Halk TV's YouTube channel, which has approximately 2.6 million subscribers, was also blocked for a second time on Oct. 23.
YouTube had not enforced an Oct. 14 restriction targeting the channel's username, which was subsequently changed.
The new restriction issued on Oct. 23 targeted the channel's unique identification number rather than its username. Authorities did not disclose which body issued the latest order or the grounds for the decision.
The personal social media account of Halk TV owner and board chairman Cafer Mahiroğlu was also blocked on Oct. 20 at the request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
The restriction was justified by allegations that Mahiroğlu had made calls intended to incite the public outside Halk TV's headquarters.
The prosecutor's office is also investigating Mahiroğlu over allegations of bribery, bid-rigging and laundering proceeds of crime. Mahiroğlu denies the allegations.
Access to WordPress image service blocked
Turkey's Cybersecurity Presidency issued an access restriction against i0.wp.com, a subdomain that provides image services to websites using the WordPress platform, under a decision dated Oct. 23.
The decision, numbered 490.05.01.2026.-1186645, could affect image loading on numerous websites built using WordPress.
Journalists march against censorship in 10 provinces
Press organizations held simultaneous marches against censorship in 10 Turkish provinces, including Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, on Oct. 24.
At least 3,000 people participated in each of the marches in Istanbul and Ankara, according to police estimates.
The demonstrations were held under the slogan "No to censorship, freedom for news."
A joint statement read during the marches criticized the appointment of trustees to television broadcasters and the access restriction imposed on the news website T24.
The statement also condemned restrictions imposed on the social media accounts of associations, including MLSA, news organizations and dozens of journalists.
