The 'profiling' they call 'criminal record' or 'affiliated'

Hürriyet columnist Abdülkadir Selvi wrote that Melisa Akcan, the mother whose five children died in a fire in the Selçuk district of İzmir after she locked the door on them and left, had six criminal records.

Sözcü published a report stating that TikTok phenomenon Cansum, who was angry at a social media influencer for bringing her ex-boyfriend onto a broadcast, had 80 criminal records.

Milliyet reported that Vedat K., who drove his vehicle at a motorcycle rider who broke his mirror, had 8 criminal records at the police station, while the motorcycle rider, Fatih F., had 2.

In the statements of officials, the adjective "affiliated" (iltisaklı) is sometimes used in place of "criminal record." Most recently, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also used the term "affiliated" in his latest statements. He said that among those detained during the protests held in Saraçhane, which spread across the country, there were "suspects affiliated with 12 different terrorist organizations." If these individuals were indeed associated with a terrorist organization, how they are walking around freely remains a mystery.

There is a problematic situation here in the name of the rule of law and journalism. The source of the stigmatization called "criminal record" is the records known in society as General Information Gathering (GBT). In simpler terms, it is actually profiling. A person's name enters these records whether they are tried and convicted or just detained at a demonstration.

"Affiliated" also feeds on these "criminal records." If a person's name has appeared in an action, investigation, or lawsuit related to an organization, that person is immediately labeled as "affiliated." Whether they have been convicted or whether there is a judicial decision against them is not considered.

That is why it is not correct to characterize people in news reports as having a "criminal record" or being "affiliated," and it often constitutes a violation of personal rights and the presumption of innocence.

Let me concretize the issue with an example. You may recall that when the police were taking the statement of CHP's presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, they asked him, in summary, "Were you aware of the information that 18 individuals elected to municipal council memberships through the 'City Consensus' were affiliated with a terrorist organization?" to which he replied by reminding them that "the Supreme Election Council (YSK) did not make this determination."

One of those characterized as "affiliated with a terrorist organization" in the question posed to İmamoğlu was Azad Barış, General Director of the Spectrum House Thought and Research Center. For days, news reports have been appearing in the pro-government media about Azad Barış, who is wanted due to the İmamoğlu investigation; in all of them, it is stated with definitive expressions, based on the investigation file, that he is "affiliated with a terrorist organization."

However, the "Azad Barış riddle" report published in Sözcü newspaper on April 1 with the byline of Özgür Cebe revealed that there is no legal data to justify calling Azad Barış "affiliated." Özgür Cebe researched the cases in the investigation file where he was stated to be tried for "establishing, managing, and being a member of an armed terrorist organization." It turns out that Azad Barış was a witness in some of the cases where he was shown as a defendant, and was acquitted in others.

Indeed, Azad Barış told Barış Terkoğlu of Cumhuriyet that "his judicial record is clean, and the only case against him is related to a press statement made by the HDP."

If the adjective "affiliated" can be used in such a hollow, baseless way even in prosecution documents, you can imagine the reality of the "criminal record" and "affiliated" adjectives used in official statements.

The Azad Barış example alone successfully proves, as Taha Akyol wrote in Karar newspaper, that "this word 'affiliated' is a very worn-out word that can be stretched like chewing gum." Proper journalism, even if authorized and influential figures state it, is not to use the adjectives "criminal record" and "affiliated" inappropriately in news; and if they are to be used, it is to ask for the reason, source, and documentation of the "criminal record" or "affiliation," and to include that information in the news...

The journalist who lost their way

How was it possible for pro-government journalist Sinan Burhan to say eight days in advance on a program on TV100 that Ekrem İmamoğlu would be detained?

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel is pursuing this question. He said they know the name of the "deputy chairman" who messaged Sinan Burhan during the program on March 11; Sinan Burhan responded to him on social media:

"This information that reached me was backstage information. While giving the information, I said that this was an allegation in need of explanation and I also expressed my astonishment. As a journalist, it is our duty to convey information from our news sources to the public."

Burhan's explanation is full of journalistic errors. First of all, it cannot be a journalist's "duty" to convey every piece of information that comes from news sources. Journalism is not just relaying; a journalist examines, verifies, and processes the incoming data before publishing it. The difference between news and rumor, news and backstage gossip, and news and allegation stems from this process anyway.

No matter how much you trust a news source, an allegation or backstage gossip coming from there cannot be published directly. Recently, we frequently witness attempts to increase excitement and interest in discussion programs by saying, "I am reading a message from my source." But a journalist who knows and follows professional rules does not read every incoming message as "backstage information"; they check it, ask the parties involved, research it, and only then report it.

Moreover, that evening, Sinan Burhan was not just conveying the information that "İmamoğlu would be detained," he was declaring İmamoğlu guilty regarding the "City Consensus" and "corruption":

"My sources say something like this. Although it may still be in need of explanation. Mr. İmamoğlu's city consensus falls within the scope of a constitutional crime. Furthermore, the responsibility for issues related to corruption in the Metropolitan Municipality and districts also belongs to İmamoğlu. There may be a situation where Mr. İmamoğlu is detained (before the holiday)."

Judging people from screens and declaring them guilty cannot be a journalistic attitude. What Sinan Burhan did was an overstepping of journalistic boundaries. His defense is also a confession of how far he is from the fundamental principles of journalism. He did what was required of a partisan journalist.

Why is Emine Erdoğan not asked?

President Erdoğan's wife, Emine Erdoğan, went to the USA two years ago to attend a special session of the International Day of Zero Waste at the United Nations. At that time, she flew on a Turkish Airlines (THY) plane. Her daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar, her granddaughter Aybike Bayraktar, and the then-Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu were also on the same plane.

Emine Erdoğan attended the UN ceremony this year as well, but I could not find clear information on whether she went to the USA on a THY plane or one of the planes in the Presidential fleet.

But one thing is clear: Emine Erdoğan is a person sensitive to environmental pollution and the recycling of waste. I hope that this year, too, she preferred THY, considering the volume of emissions that a large plane like the Airbus-A340 in the fleet would release into the air while traveling to the USA.

Another point that caught my attention is that the pro-government media, which gave extensive coverage to Emine Erdoğan's speech at the UN where she explained that "with the Zero Waste Project, 227.3 billion kilowatt-hours of energy savings were achieved, equivalent to the 1-year consumption of 40 million households," was content with the information provided and did not ask any questions or conduct any research.

It is certainly understandable that they applaud the project launched by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in 2017 and Emine Erdoğan's efforts in this regard. However, on the other hand, Turkey imports 12 million tons of garbage from European countries annually. They call it "plastic waste," but the piles of trash in Çukurova reveal how agricultural lands are being polluted by this waste.

Unfortunately, it is not our mainstream media, but European journalists who track the route of imported waste in Turkey, and news about it is published more often there. Indeed, about a month ago, a report appeared in the Guardian titled "Turkey said it would be a 'zero waste' country. It has turned into Europe's dumping ground."

The Center for Combating Disinformation denied this report as always; it argued that "recyclable plastic waste, not garbage, was imported, and unsuitable waste was sent back to its country."

Well, wouldn't a journalist (among those who can reach her) come out and ask Emine Erdoğan why Europe's garbage is being imported? They don't ask, they aren't interested in this garbage. You'd think it's not the soil and water of our country that is being polluted, and they aren't journalists...

In a single sentence:

- Due to the Press Advertisement Agency (BİK) General Assembly's decision to increase the minimum sales price to 15 TL, the price of newspapers, which were 10 liras, rose to 15 liras as of April 1, but only Nefes, Korkusuz, and Aydınlık published an announcement to their readers.

- Pro-government Yeni Şafak criticized the economic policy implemented by Minister Mehmet Şimşek with the headlines "Inflation is in the same place after 22 months" and "Investment stopped, production weakened."

- When the Official Gazette, which is not published on national holidays and public holidays, was published on March 30, the first day of this holiday, amnesty decisions, including those for two Hezbollah members, went into effect without waiting for the end of the holiday.

- Sabah announced the 25 percent hike in the price of electricity consumed in residences as "New tariff for electricity and natural gas," while Türkgün announced it as "New regulation in electricity."

- The development that Nefes announced with the headline "Şara did not take Turks into the cabinet" was reported by Akşam as "Unity cabinet in Syria" and by Yeni Şafak as "Inclusive government for new Syria."

- The last words of the artist Volkan Konak, who died on stage, were "Don't you know, revolutionaries are not afraid," but Hürriyet wrote, "His last words: Believe in art, science, and women, the rest is a lie."

- The pro-government media ignored the fact that Çatalca Mufti Ahmet Mehmetalioğlu insulted the artist Volkan Konak by saying "He croaked on stage" and showed disrespect to his memory.

- Yeni Akit was the only newspaper to suspend its publication during the three-day holiday.

- Yeni Akit distorted the attack on the CHP's signature campaign stand and the stabbing of a person, publishing it as "CHP's İmamoğlu campaign stirred up Trabzon."

- The surname of AKP Deputy Chairman Efkan Âlâ is written and pronounced in the media as "Ala" by mistake, without the circumflex accent on the "a"s.

- The History magazine, where Gürsel Göncü was removed from his position as Publication Coordinator and replaced by Cengiz Özkarabekir, who is the "İBB Publications Coordinator" of İST magazine, announced that it has suspended its "publishing activities for an indefinite period."

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