War-mongering in the media once again

When I heard President Erdoğan’s words challenging Israel in the evening—'Just as we entered Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to them'—I thought, 'This is a major event; it will be the top story everywhere.' After all, Erdoğan was practically declaring war on Israel.

However, pro-government channels, as if they had received instructions from somewhere, tried to downplay the remarks by highlighting only the 'we must be strong' aspect of Erdoğan’s speech. Interpretations were made suggesting that Israel is also a threat to Turkey, and therefore Erdoğan was saying Turkey needs to be strong. News websites also tried to brush the event aside as if it were an ordinary speech. 

 Newspapers used headlines such as 'We must be strong in defense' (Akşam), 'He sent a message to Israel from Rize' (Hürriyet), and 'We must be strong against Israel' (Sabah). Only Türkiye and Yeni Şafak featured the remarks about entering Israel in their headlines, but even they did not play up the story much.  In addition to Milliyet and Yeni Akit, opposition media outlets like Cumhuriyet, BirGün, and Karar did not even feature these words on their front pages. Sözcü grasped the seriousness of the situation, but it only included it in a small space at the bottom of the page: 'Just as we entered Libya, we will enter Israel.'

 Yet, international agencies reported Erdoğan’s words as breaking news. The reaction from Israel was not delayed. Israeli Foreign Minister Katz, attaching a photo of Saddam Hussein at the moment of his capture next to a portrait of Erdoğan, stated, 'Erdoğan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatening to attack Israel. He should remember what happened there and how it ended.' 

 The pro-government media once again took a one-sided view. The content of Katz’s statement was not reported; instead, reactions to it were turned into news. Most used headlines similar to those taken from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, such as 'Netanyahu’s end will be like Hitler’s' and 'Arrogance from genocidal Israel.'

Two days later, the commentary in the pro-government media hardened, and those who criticized Erdoğan’s words were accused of 'not standing with Turkey' and speaking with an 'Israeli tongue.'

Then, war-mongering began in the pro-government media, as if there were no way to stop the violence Israel inflicts on Palestinians other than war. Akşam columnist Turgay Güler wrote, 'The Turkish army will enter Israel when the time comes.' The newspaper Türkiye published provocations by certain figures in a headline by Yılmaz Bilgen, 'If the Golan falls, Syria falls,' claiming that 'it has become a necessity for Turkey to move south.' These are just a small sample of the war cries in the media...

Following the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Haniyeh in Tehran, war-mongering in the media has intensified even further. Rahim Er, a columnist for Türkiye, argued that Turkey's soldiers, police, and irregular forces should be deployed to Gaza, Lebanon, and Jordan. Aydın Ünal from Yeni Şafak wrote, 'If a Saladin does not emerge from within the Ummah, the Ummah will become a Saladin in its entirety and flow into Jerusalem.' Yahya Bostan from the same newspaper stated, 'We must root out that tumor from the region.'

Unfortunately, the pro-government media seems to have forgotten the consequences of the 'war-mongering' they engaged in 13 years ago when the civil war began in Syria. A journalist must always stand on the side of peace. True patriotism and standing with Turkey mean advocating for peace. 

THEY EDITED OUT ERDOĞAN'S INSTAGRAM MISTAKE

I do not know if it was written that way in President Erdoğan's speech text or if it happened when he went off-prompter again, but there was a logical error in those remarks:

'Macron invited me. I said I could come. My 13-year-old granddaughter said, "Grandpa, don't go." I asked, "Why?" She said, "They are going to hold an LGBT demonstration there." She showed me those images on Instagram. I said, "Okay, my daughter, I won't go."'

When Erdoğan made this speech, the Paris Olympics had already been underway for four days. The images his granddaughter showed him were from the opening ceremony. Therefore, it was impossible for him to have had that conversation with his granddaughter before the opening ceremony!

Indeed, the Directorate of Communications, having noticed this logical error, removed the sentence 'She showed me those images on Instagram' from the transcript of Erdoğan's speech published on the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye website. Similarly, Anadolu Agency also scrubbed that sentence. Naturally, as a result, that sentence was absent from reports on many news websites.

The pro-government media, which concealed the logical error, also ignored subsequent reports that 'Macron did not invite Erdoğan to the opening.' Furthermore, they did not question at all how Erdoğan learned about what happened at the Olympic opening ceremony from his granddaughter. 

However, these words showed that Erdoğan does not follow the media and that his advisors do not provide him with information. As is well known, Erdoğan had also said that he 'learned about the coup attempt from his brother-in-law'. 

Another gaffe by Erdoğan regarding Instagram was that he shared his Friday message on the platform after having the entire site censored on the grounds that it 'censored' a message from Communications Director Fahrettin Altun about Haniyeh. The media covered this up as well, but the errors of the government's communications team are increasing.

OLYMPIC INVITATION TO JOURNALISTS 

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu also went to Paris with his wife for the Olympics. He announced on his social media account that he was in Paris as a guest of Paris Mayor Hidalgo and that he watched the opening ceremony with his wife from a special area at the 'Eiffel Tower'. İmamoğlu, who did not miss the National Football Team's match in Germany, also watched the Women's National Volleyball Team's match in Paris. 

News of İmamoğlu's Paris trip was published on news sites such as BirGün, Cumhuriyet, Halktv, Gazete Duvar, T24, and Odatv, but I did not see it in the print media. Of course, İmamoğlu was not the only one who went to the Olympics. A large number of journalists were also in Paris as guests of companies like İş Bank and Toyota, as well as the Turkish National Olympic Committee. 

Among the approximately 30 guests of İş Bank, one of the TMOK sponsors, were author Sunay Akın and journalists Alişer Delek, Açıl Sezen, Doğan Şentürk, Fatih Altaylı, Mehmet Ayan, Servet Yıldırım, Tayfun Bayındır, Yavuz Barlas, and Özlem Gürses. They were hosted for two nights in Paris, watched two matches, and returned. 

I was able to find the list of invited journalists who participated in İmamoğlu's Rome trip only after they published photos. Since there was no such photo this time, it was not possible to find the names of all the invited journalists. I keep writing about invited overseas trips attended by journalists; let me record the Paris trip with this much information.     

WHEN JOURNALISM AND POLITICS INTERTWINE 

In its report titled "Loyalty appointments again," Cumhuriyet had previously reported that three individuals who were appointed to Boğaziçi University and shortly thereafter moved to the Hatay Metropolitan Municipality were members of the Technical Personnel Association (TEKDER). The report also included the views of Şenol Solum, the Organizing Secretary of the Eğitim Sen Universities Branch.

About a month later, the Politik Yol website published a report on the same individuals titled "'Request' from Boğaziçi personnel who are members of the Milli Görüş association: Let the department head be one of us."

Immediately afterward, the TV5 news site, which follows the Milli Görüş line, published a report titled "The smear campaigns of those who want to stir up Boğaziçi continue." The report, which emphasized that the aforementioned Uğur Kandemir, Abdulbasit Körük, and Bahattin Toptaş were not members of TEKDER, characterized the reports by Cumhuriyet and Politik Yol as "fabricated, desk-written, and character assassination journalism." Furthermore, by quoting old posts from Şenol Solum's social media account, it was implied that he was a member of an organization.  

Upon Solum's request, I examined these reports. If the three individuals in question were not members of TEKDER, they should have first applied to Cumhuriyet to request a correction of the report. The report published on TV5, however, is entirely judgmental, starting with the sentence, "...a group of academics and graduates who continue the provocation are trying to discredit the new Rector İnci by labeling him a 'trustee'." Moreover, these expressions are not based on any statement or judicial decision. 

The insinuations regarding Solum, for whom there is no data suggesting he provided information to Cumhuriyet and Politik Yol, are a complete "character assassination." The TV5 report is a new example of the drawbacks created by the intertwining of journalism and partisanship.

OUR MEDIA'S VENEZUELA CONSENSUS 

It was announced that President Nicolas Maduro won the election in Venezuela again, and the country is in turmoil once more. The opposition, which has taken to the streets, is of the opinion that they won the election.

I noticed something. In Turkey, both the pro-government media and the opposition media are in consensus regarding their support for Maduro. The news headlines overlap in a way not seen before:

"US-backed right-wing opposition is chasing a coup" (BirGün), "Opposition supporters took to the streets" (SolHaber), "Dirty hands are at work again in Venezuela" (Sabah), "US mischief is growing in Venezuela" (Yeni Akit), "Political coup attempt in Venezuela" (Yeni Şafak)

The fact that Maduro is a leftist, but on the other hand has close relations with President Erdoğan, leads to such a consensus. However, even the Socialist International criticized the elections in Venezuela for not being transparent. Unfortunately, even this statement could not find a place in the media.

In a single sentence:

• In its headline "The bag full of secrets," Yeni Şafak made an absurd claim that a "carbon monoxide device" had been installed in the bag of journalist İsmail Güneş, who died in the helicopter crash along with Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, and that "the crash was triggered by this device."
• Yeni Şafak columnist Bülent Orakoğlu also penned a far-fetched claim that men in black clothing had pulled Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu alive from the helicopter wreckage and tortured him to death. 
  

• Türkiye newspaper columnist İsa Karakaş, in his article commenting on the "legislative proposal regarding the inclusion of internships in retirement calculations," did not mention at all that the proposal was submitted by İyi Party Denizli MP Yasin Öztürk. 
• The "Melbourne notes" of Islamic historian Prof. Dr. İ. Süreyya Sırma, who was invited to Turkish Airlines' Melbourne flight on March 4, were published in Yeni Şafak on July 30, after a 5-month delay.
• Sözcü and Korkusuz, in their report on "Former Minister Abdüllatif Şener's son shooting his grandmother," mistakenly used a photo of the mother, Berrin Şener, instead of the grandmother, Leyla Çetiner.  
• During the university application period, while private foundation universities published both overt and covert advertisements on TV, websites, and in newspapers, state universities, whose promotional activities are restricted by law, remained silent.
•  Following a complaint by the pro-government Turkuvaz Media, the authorities were not content with just blocking specific news reports; they also shut down the Medyaradar website, which remains inaccessible to this day.
• News sites such as Haber Global, Takvim, and Yeni Bakış mistook the Hebrew term "Amit Nakesh," which means "assassin," for a person's name, reporting that "The Mossad agent who killed Haniyeh has been identified"; they issued corrections only after being warned on social media.
• Posta newspaper drew a forced conclusion from the fact that some audience members shouted "Icardi" at Simge Sağın's concert, claiming that "Fans want Galatasaray star Icardi and Simge to be in a relationship." 
• In a report titled "The expiration date scandal in supermarkets," Sabah newspaper failed to name the five supermarket chains accused of selling products past their expiration dates. 

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