Rahmi Koç's joke and the power of money

During a hospital opening in Izmir, businessman Rahmi Koç told a sexist and racist "joke" that demeaned Kurdish women, yet not a single person beside him raised the slightest objection. Moreover, Binali Yıldırım and everyone else present laughed.

There were no journalists around them. Only a local journalist, Erhan Gülenç, captured the footage. He shared it on social media with the headline, "A funny joke from Rahmi Koç: Doctor, you undress first." However, objections immediately rose on social media; women's organizations, bar associations, and various institutions expressed their reactions one after another. Rahmi Koç's apology, which notably omitted the word "Kurdish," was not enough to save the situation; Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek announced that an investigation had been launched.

Only then did Erhan Gülenç's approach change, as he posted, "Despite the threats, we resisted and did not remove the video. This has become a piece of journalism we will leave as a legacy."

Of course, with so many invited journalists present, it is an achievement that only Erhan Gülenç captured that conversation. However, it was wrong for him to share it as a "funny joke" without recognizing the discrimination and degradation involved.

Furthermore, the statements, reactions, and the launch of an investigation further increased the "news value" and significance of the incident.

Indeed, it was published on almost all news websites.

It was noteworthy that Gazete Oksijen was among the few media outlets that did not publish the news. Since Oksijen had published a 40-page advertising supplement titled "100th Year Newspaper" for Koç Holding just last week, it neither mentioned the joke nor the investigation launched into Rahmi Koç in its report on "$150 million health investment from Koç Holding"...

The power of money defeated journalism, but fortunately, its impact remained quite limited...

The language that fuels hostility toward Greeks

In the BBC Turkish report titled, "Why have Turkish-Greek relations entered a period of 'tension' recently?", the question posed in the headline remained unanswered.

The report stated, "Recent developments and reciprocal steps taken by the capitals have caused tension to rise again," and added, "The parties continue to blame each other on this issue."

It has been this way for years. The two states and the politicians on both sides blame each other; no lasting steps are taken to resolve the disputes, and the tension, or even hostility, simply continues.

Unfortunately, although there are reports and initiatives in our media that go against this atmosphere, they remain weak; they do not persist; the broadcasts in the media are also essentially extensions of the dominant state policy...

In fact, an even worse line has been followed recently; the Greek nation is held responsible for the actions of the Greek state and its politicians; a discriminatory language that spreads hostility is used in the reports. In some places, this language even slips into hate speech.

Let me give a few examples of the discriminatory and hostile reports I am referring to. Similar to the BBC Turkish report, Akşam's "Terrorist reaction from the US to the Greek," Yeni Akit's "Digital surveillance panic in Greece," and Nefes's "Copycat Greek's blue strategy" reports failed to distinguish between the state and the nation. An approach was displayed as if the entire Greek nation had collectively carried out the actions of the Greek state that were the subject of the reports.

The Ensonhaber website's report titled "What could you do if we came at you like this, Greece" featured an image of armored vehicles landing on a beach during an exercise. This was a report that fueled hostility between the two nations and incited war. The Türkiye newspaper engaged in provocation by headlining its report on F-16s driving away Greek jets flying low over Meis as "They are asking for it" (a pun on the name of the town Kaş).

The desire for war to break out or for tensions to rise between two countries is so deeply ingrained in the media that even debates over the cultural origins of tripe are reported using words like "war" and "tension." A Greek restaurant owner in Thessaloniki wanting to register tripe as a "traditional Greek dish" was published under headlines such as "Trotter and tripe tension with Greece" (Nefes), "The 'tripe' war between Greece and Turkey" (EuroNews), and "The Greeks have set their sights on our source of healing this time" (Sözcü). These are reports that ignore the shared history of the two nations and the common culture nourished by the same lands.

The Turkish Journalists' Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities stipulates that journalists must "respect all nations," "avoid publications that fuel hatred and hostility between nations," and "not disparage the cultural values of nations." This is because journalism has an obligation to foster friendship, not hostility and hatred, between nations.

In our country, the leading advocate of this principle was Milliyet Editor-in-Chief Abdi İpekçi. He put great effort into the development of Turkish-Greek friendship. For this reason, after his assassination in 1979, the "Abdi İpekçi Peace and Friendship Award" was established, supported by the newspapers Milliyet and Eleftherotypia. However, these awards could only continue until the year 2000.

Unfortunately, journalism can no longer carry the banner of peace and friendship; it has been replaced by provocative publications that feed on hostility.

The cartoonist behind the "Struck" caricature

In his speech at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), Özgür Özel said, "On the day our dear Ferdi Zeyrek was fighting for his life due to an electric shock, the woman who drew the caricature mocking him as 'Struck' in the Yeni Akit newspaper is handing out chocolates at her father's house today."

The person he was referring to was Gülşah Alyans, a CHP member who had been dismissed from her job at the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality some time ago. It was true that she was handing out chocolates to those who came to the office on the day police removed Özgür Özel and party members from the Headquarters using pepper spray and plastic bullets. There were photos and footage.

However, it was unclear on what basis Özgür Özel linked Gülşah Alyans to the caricature in Yeni Akit. Gülşah Alyans issued a statement declaring that she had never drawn a caricature in her life, had no connection to that caricature, and had not shared it on social media.

Indeed, the X account of Gülşah Alyans was opened in November 2025; however, Ferdi Zeyrek’s death occurred on June 10, 2025. The cartoon mentioned by Özgür Özel was also published in Yeni Akit on June 11, 2025, the day after his death. In any case, the “headline-top” cartoons in Yeni Akit are drawn by cartoonist Kemal Güler. It is clear that the “Struck Down” cartoon also bears Kemal Güler’s lines.

Furthermore, this cartoon was published under the headline, “You cannot silence Akit with slanders. Both those who say ‘he croaked’ and those who attempt to lynch…” During those days, posts were made claiming that Akit had used the headline “He croaked” for Ferdi Zeyrek; the newspaper was denying that claim. The cartoon supported this headline; it showed that Yeni Akit was striking down those who were spreading “slander”!

I also wrote at the time that it was not true that Yeni Akit had used the headline “He croaked”; it was a montage. However, in its first report, Yeni Akit had spewed hatred by writing “Struck down.” It did not stop there; while Ferdi Zeyrek was fighting for his life, they published a story about his “luxury villa”; they were malicious.

The freedom Yeni Akit wants!

The Press Advertising Agency (BİK) is an institution established to regulate the fair distribution of official notices and advertisements, but it had also taken on the task of content supervision. It was ethically problematic for an institution that holds the power of money to conduct content supervision.

As a matter of fact, the principles known as the “Press Ethics Principles” had been turned into a “weapon” to punish media outlets that do not support the government.

The Constitutional Court’s acceptance of the Journalists’ Association’s request to annul the provision containing the “Press Ethics Principles” had raised hopes for a more libertarian regulation. However, in the new legislative proposal submitted by the government to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), 15 articles were included under the heading “Press and Publication Principles” that were much harsher, much more ambiguous, and open to arbitrary interpretation than the “Press Ethics Principles.” This regulation granted the Agency broader powers than before.

However, the first objection to the regulation did not come from professional organizations, but first from HÜDAPAR, and the next day from Yeni Akit. In the report titled “A new 5816 persecution is on the way: This law puts shackles on the press,” it was stated that “the attempt to pave the way for imposing penalties of cutting off notices and advertisements to media organizations deemed to be broadcasting against Atatürk’s principles and reforms has drawn backlash.”

Out of the 15 articles, they were only hung up on the one stating, 'No publications contrary to Atatürk’s principles and reforms may be made!' Yeni Asya and Milli Gazete, which have never seen eye-to-eye with the government, also opposed the regulation with headlines asking, 'Is Article 163 coming back?'; they found common ground with Yeni Akit.

During the deliberations of the legislative proposal at the TBMM Budget and Planning Commission, a development occurred; the government withdrew the 'Press and Publication Principles' section of the proposal. It was not explained why this section was withdrawn. However, the influence of Yeni Akit’s campaigns on the government is well-known.

The Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the law regarding 'indefinite' alimony also came after a campaign by Yeni Akit that lasted for months. Now, they are continuing their smear campaign against independent journalists with headlines such as, 'The foreign currency windfall of opposition journalists has been exposed.'

It would be beneficial for journalism organizations to monitor the process and be prepared for a new regulation. In its current state, the Press Advertisement Agency (BİK) cannot perform content audits; and that is how it should be...

In a single sentence:

- With her successful interview with CHP’s Bülent Kuşoğlu on T24, which left a mark on the political agenda, Cansu Çamlıbel reminded our media of the tradition of well-prepared, investigative journalism that challenges its guests.

- The criticisms directed at Şule Aydın due to her interview with CHP MP Mustafa Adıgüzel were also unfair; that was also a successful, questioning interview; her displaying her own stance did not prevent her guest from exercising their right to speak.

- Access bans were placed on the 'Visa Empire' investigative file written by Canan Coşkun on Kısa Dalga, which caused a stir; former Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who was mentioned in the investigation, did not send his 'right of reply' to Kısa Dalga, but instead responded to Cüneyt Özdemir.

- While pro-government media used headlines such as "No interruption in growth" and "Turkey grew by 2.5 percent in the first quarter," Yeni Şafak drew attention to the "0.8 percent contraction in industry."

- Hürriyet's website presented Özgür Özel's chat with a group of journalists at the Turkish Grand National Assembly with the misleading headline, "Özgür Özel spoke to Hürriyet; answered the questions everyone was wondering about."

- The word "arapsaçı" (tangled mess) used in Milliyet's headline "Convention is a tangled mess" was a term with "racist connotations that opens the door to hate speech." (Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan)

- Anadolu Agency contributed to the murderer's attempt to legitimize the crime by broadcasting a video of the man who killed his wife and the person with her in the Söke district of Aydın.

- Despite the known fact that suicides are contagious, Show TV and Sözcü reported on the suicide of a nurse in Antalya by detailing the method used.

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