Nefes was deceived by a phenomenon

 It was a small box headline in the “The citizen on the street is speaking” column of the newspaper Nefes: “I finished two university degrees but couldn't get appointed.” This box described a young person rebelling against their experiences by filming a video on the subway:

“I finished two university degrees, I qualified for teaching but haven't been appointed for years. Now I've started working as a cashier at A-101. Mom, be proud of your son...”

Clearly, the editors who prepared this column for Nefes thought this video was real. I checked social media, and dozens of accounts, including those doing short-form news like “23 Derece,” had shared this video on various dates.

However, if you look closely, there is a logo on the video: “@husovynreels”. When you look at this account on Instagram and YouTube, you encounter a young man named Hüseyin Kaya who is eager to become famous on social media; he is not some teacher who couldn't get appointed. He published the video where he says “I finished two university degrees” on August 8, 2024, so it's not even new...

There are dozens of videos on his account filmed on buses, in streets, cafes, and shopping malls. He also really likes filming videos inside buses; he always starts with “Friends,” and in some, he is someone paying off their credit card debt, while in others, he is a groom writing poetry. His videos are always staged...

The funniest one is the video where he jumps up shouting “I won 4 million liras” at a scratch-off lottery ticket stand. People believed this footage so much that he couldn't get away from threat messages and people asking for money. In the end, he had to film a new video explaining that the previous one was a “lie.”

I can understand ignorant people in terms of media literacy believing this young man's videos, but it is unacceptable for a newspaper to publish it thinking it is real. An editor knows, or should know, that every image and every post they encounter on social media must be verified.

If the editor who prepared that column at Nefes had checked the logo on the “Teacher who couldn't get appointed” video, they wouldn't have fallen for this trap. But they acted so carelessly that they didn't even realize the video was filmed on a bus, not the subway...

DINOSAURS WERE NEWS, AND SO WERE SHROUDS

On the day AKP MP Osman Gökçek held a press conference in Parliament, there were news reports in the media that three times their value had been paid for the dinosaurs purchased for Ankapark during the term of his father, Melih Gökçek, as the Mayor of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

Naturally, after Osman Gökçek raised the allegation that corruption involving body bags and shrouds had taken place during Mansur Yavaş's term as Mayor of Ankara, journalists asked about the dinosaurs. Instead of answering this question, Osman Gökçek cut it short by saying, “I am not the addressee of that subject, but...”

Osman Gökçek can do as he pleases as a politician, but when reporting on a press conference, balanced journalism must be conducted, and both elements must be included in the news. It is an editorial choice for pro-government media to highlight the shrouds and for opposition media to highlight the dinosaurs; this is acceptable.

But organizations like Hürriyet, Akşam, CNN Türk, Sabah, TGRT, Yeni Akit, and Yeni Şafak only reported on the shroud issue, while newspapers like Cumhuriyet, Sözcü, and Gazete Pencere only reported on the dinosaur issue. While reporting the allegations regarding one side, they left the other side incomplete. Moreover, the pro-government media did not publish the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality's statement and criminal complaint.

Not reporting one of the elements of the news is an injustice to the reader and the viewer; it is a disrespect to their right to information... It is also contrary to the principle of objective approach to data in journalism.

NOT DISINFORMATION BUT A “CENTER FOR TRIAL WITHOUT JUDGMENT”

 In the news titled “Bad news for green passport holders from the EU” by Ali Gülen in the newspaper Sözcü, it was claimed that with the EU starting to implement the ETIAS system, a pre-visa requirement would also be introduced for green and gray passport holders.

However, the Center for Combating Disinformation, affiliated with the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, made a statement that Turkey was not among the 30 countries that the EU had announced would be included in the ETIAS scope. Indeed, two days after Sözcü's report, the European Union Delegation to Turkey also published a statement saying, “Turkey will not be part of ETIAS and Turkish travelers with visa-free entry rights will not need to apply for ETIAS.” The EU's statement emphasized that green passport holders do not need to apply for ETIAS travel authorization.

The news may be incorrect or incomplete. As Gülen argues, there may be new developments after ETIAS starts to be implemented in May. But the fact that a piece of news turns out to be incorrect does not give anyone, especially public institution employees, the right to lynch a journalist. Resorting to such a path while methods of “reply and correction” exist is, let alone journalistic rules, a suspension of the Press Law.

It is unfair for the Center for Combating Disinformation to accuse Ali Gülen of making “baseless claims aimed at manipulating public opinion” without naming him. It is a complete trial without judgment...

Judging a journalist cannot be a method of correcting news.

POLONEZ WORKERS DIDN'T WIN, THE MINISTRY MADE THEM SMILE!

The Polonez workers, who were fired for being unionized, resisted for exactly 172 days. They didn't care about police interventions, rain, mud, cold, or even hunger...

The police blockaded them to break their resistance and prevent them from leaving Çatalca and marching to Ankara, yet they did not give up. Thank goodness there is still opposition media, so the workers' action was reported day by day and made known.

However, the pro-government media just watched the workers being dragged on the ground by police intervention and their hunger strikes for these 172 days. Their glorious newspapers, TV channels, and news sites barely reported on it at all; they ignored the workers. They all lined up on the side of the boss again. Yeni Akit even published a story titled “Union tyranny at Polonez.”

One of those who ignored the workers' struggle was Akşam. It only published the news “Fine of over 2 million to the employer who fired 145 workers in Istanbul,” but then it didn't see the actions. The moment the Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan had to intervene and the employer had to take a step back; an agreement was reached and the workers won their rights, that was the moment the pro-government media remembered the Polonez workers.

Hürriyet, which hadn't reported on the workers' action until that day, felt the need to announce that an agreement had been reached with headlines like “Agreement between Polonez workers and employer,” and Milliyet with “Minister Işıkhan announced that an agreement has been reached for Polonez workers.”

 Akşam, on the other hand, was unrivaled. It summarized what happened in one go as “Workers started an action, the Ministry of Labor stepped in, and the union and employer agreed,” and turned it into a success story for the ministry: “The ministry made the worker smile.”

Forget journalism, no one who feels the need to act consistently can act like this. A journalist defends those who are wronged and becomes the voice of the voiceless. The newspaper Akşam, on the other hand, sees it as its duty to write the worker resistance it ignored for 172 days as a plus in the government's propaganda account. It's a pity, I hope colleagues who do “journalism” like this look in the mirror again after reading this article. I feel sorry for them...

In one sentence:

The name of the private dental clinic in Bursa, where it is alleged that a 5-year-old child died due to incorrect sedation, was not used in the news about the expert report by DHA, İHA, Akşam, Habertürk, Hürriyet, Posta, Sözcü, and Türkiye.

In the long news titled “How much is the 2025 paid military service fee” on the CNN Türk website, there was no information about what the fee was; the headline was a deception.

Sabah columnist Yavuz Donat wrote an article titled “January 10... Administrators' Day” on “January 10 Working Journalists' Day.”

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun sent gifts from Beymen to some journalists on January 10 Working Journalists' Day.

Bianet and Odatv used İsmail Arı's report from BirGün, “THK's firefighting planes will be sold,” without citing the source.

Mustafa Mutlu in Korkusuz wrote “British M15 Service,” but the short name of the British intelligence agency is not “M 15,” but “MI5,” derived from the words “Military Intelligence, Section 5.”

Sözcü wrote “GS's cup match played against Alanyaspor” in the news “Okan Buruk: It doesn't matter to us even if someone comes from space,” but the match was played against Başakşehir.

TGRT Ankara Representative Fatih Atik, who claimed that “Abdullah Öcalan wants to get married,” left the DEM's response of “lie and simple tabloid” unanswered; he could not sustain his claim.

The newspaper Akşam did not mention the name of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel among those who participated in the march in its news about the march of respect for the Sarıkamış martyrs.

Access to the “X” accounts of the newspaper Yeni Yaşam, Mezopotamya Agency, Jinnews, and Siyasi Haber websites was blocked.

The opposition media did not see any news value in the “azmanbüs” (giant bus) protest against İmamoğlu in the Islands.

The pro-government media wrote in the opening news of the Denizli-Aydın highway that the 140 km road would be traveled in 55 minutes, but vehicles would need to travel faster than 140 km/h to reach this time.

The newspaper Akşam reported “2.8 billion lira inheritance fight,” but it is not an “inheritance” fight between Mauro Icardi and Wanda Nara, but a “property division fight.”

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