Hürriyet ignores the arrest of its own columnist

Among those arrested in a drug operation was Cihan Şensözlü, a lifestyle columnist for Hürriyet. However, Hürriyet, which reported on the detentions and arrests in this operation, chose to ignore the news when it involved its own columnist; it was never published in the print edition.

In the news report on its website titled “6 suspects detained in drug investigation arrested,” his name was only mentioned among those arrested. However, it was not even stated that Şensözlü was a Hürriyet columnist. In the following days, Şensözlü’s name was never mentioned in Hürriyet. He was not even mentioned in the “How it spilled into the media” section of the “Drug operations in 10 questions” report.

In fact, Barış Yarkadaş on TGRT and İsmail Saymaz on Halk TV reported that Şensözlü was accused of “encouraging and mediating prostitution” by establishing a “prostitution line” between Istanbul and Dubai. The judiciary will decide whether these accusations are justified. However, it was wrong for Saymaz to base his article on the testimony of a “secret witness” and to name a female social media celebrity. “Secret witness” statements that are not verified by evidence have no legal validity and cannot be accepted as data for journalism.

Despite all these and similar reports, no statement came from the Hürriyet management. Let alone a statement, there was not a single line of support for Şensözlü from his fellow Kelebek columnists.

Because, according to Medyaradar, the reason Şensözlü started writing for Hürriyet is his friendship with Revna Demirören, the wife of the newspaper’s owner, Yıldırım Demirören. His articles on entertainment and nightlife have been published in Kelebek since January 17, 2019, but journalism is just a showcase for him. Just as he does brand consulting, he also carries out various projects in the entertainment sector.

Indeed, judging by his social media posts, he leads a glamorous life. He travels to Paris, London, and Dubai, stays in luxury hotels, hangs out in expensive venues, and wears designer clothes.

I do not know how he finds the money required to maintain such a life. What is apparent is that he advertises the hotels he stays in and the venues where he eats and has fun in Kelebek. About five years ago, I warned him on social media for advertising a hotel in Istanbul:

"Hürriyet Kelebek readers, take note! The ‘Weekend Getaway’ section of Cihan Şensözlü’s article is not a journalistic piece, but a promotion/advertisement for a hotel in Istanbul. The author showers the hotel where he stayed for two days with praise and recommends that readers stay at this hotel! I am warning you.”

The reason I warned the readers rather than the Hürriyet management was that I was aware they knowingly approved of this activity by Şensözlü.

It seems he has continued to run wild and use journalism as he has known for years. Calling people like Şensözlü journalists is an injustice to those who truly practice journalism and bear the burden of this profession. The infiltration of such people into the media damages the reputation and credibility of journalism.

I hope the Şensözlü case serves as a lesson so that media managers do not say yes to every request from the boss’s wife.

DRUG OPERATION OR MORALITY OPERATION?

In the reports on the drug operation, there is no concrete data regarding drug sales or the existence of an organization. Information is constantly being shared about the suspects’ drug use and sexual relationships.

The media is pouring out comments and news to the public as if it were conducting a “morality operation” rather than a “drug operation.” Conversations, images, and recordings regarding people’s private lives, which are not the subject of the crime, are published without passing through any editorial filter.

The images and bedroom photos alleged to be of M. Akif Ersoy were a striking example of publications that stigmatize suspects from a “moral” perspective. Nedim Şener’s publication of the full text of WhatsApp correspondence between Sadettin Saran and Ela Rümeysa Cebeci was also a violation of people’s privacy rights. With the publication of those correspondences, most of which were unrelated to the accusation, Cebeci was labeled a “bad woman.” News sites, newspapers, and TV channels that quoted Şener’s article verbatim repeated the same mistake.

Perhaps these people will be acquitted at the end of the trial. However, thanks to the media acting like a prosecutor, they have already been declared guilty. Female presenters in the media were left under suspicion; in addition to M. Akif Ersoy and Habertürk, the reputation of journalism was also damaged.

THE NEW YEAR FABRICATION ATTRIBUTED TO PRINCE SALMAN 

Yeni Akit reported the news with the headline “Salman updated Islam!!! Opened the door to Christmas and Pagan holidays!” The same news was published on dozens of news sites, including Süperhaber and İnternethaber, as well as in Hürriyet.

Upon a reader’s warning, I looked at these reports, which included the words of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he had “updated Islam” and that “Now, in accordance with our new vision, we can celebrate Christian and Jewish religious holidays.” The first thing that caught my attention was that none of them cited a source. Almost all of them were copies of each other, except for minor changes.  

While scanning the internet, I saw a post by Feyza Gümüşoğlu, a “journalist who lived in Qatar for many years and has been closely following the Gulf for about 15 years”:

“It has spread quite a bit, but Mohammed bin Salman has no such statement. However, yes; with the economic and social transformation that Saudi Arabia is undergoing within the scope of Vision 2030, New Year decorations, trees, and various thematic events have become freer in recent years.”

In addition, an Arab fact-checking site called Akhbar Meter also confirmed Gümüşoğlu’s post. The article on this site stated that the footage of a speech Salman gave seven months ago at the Saudi-Arabian Investment Forum was altered via artificial intelligence and turned into a speech about Christmas and New Year celebrations.

In fact, if the news sites that published this “fatwa” attributed to Salman had only asked Grok, they would have received the answer that it “could not be verified.” Sites that did not check it failed miserably.

In an era where it is so easy to research and reach the source, these news reports published without any control and without citing a source show how much the weakness of journalism has grown. Unfortunately, bad journalism does not learn from its failures either.

Meanwhile, while a transformation is taking place in Saudi Arabia, hostility towards New Year celebrations is at its peak in our media. Yeni Akit and Türkiye newspapers launched a campaign against the celebrations; Türkiye targeted those who celebrate the New Year by accusing them of engaging in “Christianity propaganda.”

JOURNALISTS ON THE FILM SET IN ANTAKYA

How easy it is to make journalists in the pro-government media happy. The happiness they experienced at the “media meeting” organized by Minister Murat Kurum before the handover ceremony of the earthquake houses in Antakya is evident on their faces in the photos they took with the minister.

Their articles and programs are full of praise, expressions of admiration, and celebrations for Minister Kurum and the earthquake houses built. Okay, the construction of 455 thousand houses in three years should not be underestimated, and this success should not be ignored.

However, it should have been seen and shown in the news that there are people living in containers and that not all construction has been completed. The fact that the bridge over the dry canal and unfinished buildings were covered with banners with pictures before the “final key handover ceremony” attended by President Erdoğan is proof that there are shortcomings and that the construction process of Antakya has not been completed.

Those happy journalists ignored the banners that turned Antakya into a film set—even though it had been written about on social media for days; they did not mention the banners at all. Instead of reporting the truth, they chose to fulfill their duties as a propaganda detachment. 

IS THAT HOW A “RARE ELEMENTS” REPORT IS DONE?

Minister of Energy Alparslan Bayraktar claimed that the CHP-run municipality blocked the establishment of a facility for the processing of rare earth elements in Eskişehir by filing a lawsuit.

This post by Bayraktar was reported in pro-government media newspapers and sites such as A Haber, Akşam, Hürriyet, Sabah, Türkiye, and Yeni Şafak with headlines such as “CHP blocked the rare earth elements facility,” or “opposed it,” “put a wedge in it,” and “showed hypocrisy.”

However, those who published these reports did not look at what the lawsuit mentioned by Minister Bayraktar was. A day later, they also ignored the statement from the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality that the lawsuit filed against the “EIA positive decision” was concluded in 2022.

Moreover, as if it had not been announced that this lawsuit was concluded, Sabah covered this issue again about two months later. Furthermore, in the report published on December 16 titled “Opposition wanted to block REE,” the allegations were repeated; the information that the lawsuit was concluded was not provided. Whereas, even Bayraktar’s announcement that “the foundation of the REE facility will be laid in 2026” proves that there is no blocking.

People were deliberately misled by being given incomplete information. Unfortunately, the perception that reporting is just conveying certain statements as they are, without questioning or adding new information, has taken root in the media. However, this is not journalism, it is relaying. You don’t even need to be a journalist for this.

In a single sentence:

President Erdoğan’s son and TÜGVA executive Bilal Erdoğan’s statement on the Gaza march was broadcast live on about 20 channels.

Konca Kumkum, who hosts the “Health Agenda” program on Tele1, which has been placed under a trustee, announces on social media that “paid programs” can be made by providing an e-mail address for “collaboration.”

Milliyet presented the reduction of the olive oil price that TARİŞ will pay to producers through ministry intervention as a discount to consumers with the headline “No passage for price hikes in olive oil.”

Organizations such as A Haber, ATV, Sözcü, and Türkiye wrote “Pitbull panic in the mosque,” but the images of the pitbull dog taken in the mosque refuted these reports; everyone in the mosque was calm.

Yeni Yaşam used the clipping of the report “Honest journalism plaque from AKP Mayor to Sözcü,” which was published on July 7, 2019, and later refuted, as if it were new without giving a date.

The Babaocağı news site was blocked from access on the grounds of “protecting national security and public order”; with the same decision, access to content about Batuhan Mumcu and his wife was also stopped.

Sözcü’s website deceived readers by announcing the death of İbrahim Tatlıses’s uncle with the headline “İbrahim Tatlıses’s son announced the painful news: He has passed away.”

Yeni Şafak used Turkcell’s advertising texts, which Hürriyet and Türkiye published with the warning “This is an advertisement,” as news without any warning.

In the report “Attack on parks in Beylikdüzü: They burned the children’s playground” on the Gazete Pencere website, “camellia” was accidentally written instead of “gazebo.”

Cumhuriyet wrote “Venezüella” instead of “Venezuela” in its report “Blockade shakes the Caribbean.”

Yeni Şafak wrote in its report “Concern over two-headedness in CHP” that “the Presidential Candidacy Office is on Çevre Street”; however, the name of that street has long been Üsküp Street.

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