Turkey: CFWIJ Demands Condemns Targeted Online Attacks On Four Women Journalists For Critiquing “Racist” Short Film
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: May 5, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
At least four women journalists were targeted after the right-wing party, Zafer (Victory) Party, shared an anti-refugee short film called “Silent Invasion” inciting its supporters. Journalists Nevşin Mengü, Burcu Karakaş, Suzan Demir, Neşe İdil, and lawyer and columnist İpek Maya Saygın were among the targets of the hate campaign, weaponized racist and misogynistic language to threaten, intimidate, and silence journalists. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the malicious attacks and calls on the Turkish authorities to find the perpetrators and apply the necessary criminal sanctions.
Journalists were threatened after the Victory Party, known for its anti-refugee policies, shared a photo of French women refugees in Nazi camps from the Second World War on its Twitter account. The post sparked public condemnation. However, an unidentified account, allegedly one of the representatives of radical right-wing party Victory, threatened journalists Nevşin Mengü, Burcu Karakaş, and lawyer İpek Maya Saygın by quoting the post, defending a “tariff” should be applied to these journalists.
The post said that “It should not be forgotten that the French women who were together with the Nazis and invaded their country, faced a shame after the war. They were even exposed [to the public] and taken to shame ceremonies”.
The controversial post and attacks came after an anti-refugee short film called “Silent Invasion”. The short film, funded by the right-wing party, spread enormous controversy online and journalists were the first target of the online trolls.
Journalist Burcu Karakaş took to her Twitter account and said, "He threatens with these disgusting words and when I reply to him to get know about the 'tariff' he mentioned, he is locking his account. Thank you”.
#Turkey: At least 4 women journalists face online attacks from far right trolls after criticizing a short film “Silent Invasion,” loaded with anti-immigrant, anti-refugee messaging.
— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) May 5, 2022
Turkey has fared worst on #CFWIJ’s index in 2022 with 64 violations.➡️https://t.co/8TEDSTMgq2 https://t.co/wZ7WK7eOCB
On the other hand, Suzan Demir was another journalist who was threatened. Commenting under the controversial post, the journalist was exposed to sexist online threats. She said that she received a message that her head would be crushed with a stone and would be raped by refugees. She reported the threat directly to the authorities on Twitter and responded with a locked account that spreads hate campaigns.
Neşe İdil was another name that faced similar attacks. She became a target for the attacks online and this was not her first time. She had received similar threats as a result of her messages of solidarity toward refugees. Expressing her discomfort after a politician who made a racist comment against refugees shared a photo from Istanbul, Neşe received many threatening messages on this comment. Stating that the attacks were not just an online smear campaign, the journalist described what happened to her as "another attack that was organized".
The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity with Burcu, Nevşin, Suzan, Neşe, and İpek. We demand the Turkish authorities conduct a swift investigation into the attacks. We urge that online harassment can cause extremely dangerous consequences. We wish the perpetrators to be found immediately and the necessary criminal sanctions applied.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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