We spend our lives deciphering Bahçeli's codes

President Erdoğan and his partner, MHP Chairman Bahçeli, have become accustomed to not having journalists around them who ask questions. That is why they are taken aback when they encounter a journalist who asks critical questions or probes deeper.

This is the reason why Bahçeli scolded our colleague, journalist Hilal Köylü, telling her to "quit your profession" when she asked him a question as he left his parliamentary group meeting. He wants to be the one speaking, while the journalist simply listens, reports, and asks "softball" questions that put him at ease.

Yet, these days, whether there is a disagreement between Bahçeli and Erdoğan following his call to Abdullah Öcalan is one of the main items on the political agenda. Whichever news channel you turn on, or whichever political commentator you look at, they are all seeking an answer to this question. 

It is perfectly natural for Hilal Köylü to ask Bahçeli this. A journalist's job is to ask questions. If Bahçeli had answered the question instead of scolding the journalist like a party official expected to keep him happy, we would have learned whether there was a difference of opinion between him and Erdoğan. 

Instead of answering the question, Bahçeli shared a video that evening titled "The Time Has Come," with no clear target. That post has been circulating for days, and we are trying to decipher the meaning and target of the words, "Sometimes you are left alone, even your closest ones do not understand you." 

Bahçeli, who speaks in codes, allusions, and symbols, struggles to explain himself; we journalists spend our lives trying to solve his riddles. Newspapers like Sabah have it easy; they dismiss even these efforts to understand the codes as a "perception operation"...

THE FRIVOLITY OF SMEARING A WOMAN WHO LOST FIVE CHILDREN 

Melisa Sinem Akcan is a woman alone, with her husband in prison, trying to survive and care for her children through aid and by collecting scrap metal. While she was away to collect money for the scrap, her five children, whom she had left home alone, died in a fire caused by an electric heater.

The morning after such a tragic event, the details were not yet clear. The reporter covering the scene on Habertürk TV's 'Para Gündem' program, after describing the fire, turned the subject to the mother: 'There are various allegations regarding the mother. It is also alleged that she used substances. All of this will be investigated.'

The reporter was accusing the mother, but it was clear they had no concrete information, which is why they kept saying 'it is alleged.' It was unclear who or what these allegations were based on. Moreover, the reporter themselves admitted they were speaking of an allegation that had not yet been investigated.

The same 'allegation' was repeated in the afternoon in an Odatv report titled, 'Odatv reached the neighborhood headman regarding the fire tragedy in İzmir. The mother and father's criminal records turned out to be extensive':

'It was claimed that the mother, Melisa Sinem Akcan, worked as a paper collector, left the children home alone while locking the door to work at night, had a criminal record, and used drugs.'

The report was based on a conversation with neighborhood headman Ahmet Çokyaman, but this sentence was not presented as a direct quote from him. It is likely the headman did not want to take responsibility for the claim that the woman used drugs, or he was not certain of it.

Later, many reports stated that Melisa Sinem Akcan had 'criminal records for animal theft, assault, and disturbing the peace.' Some also repeated the drug allegation. 

It is perfectly natural for journalists to seek those responsible in such a grave incident. The responsibilities and mistakes of the state, first and foremost, as well as the municipality, relatives, the father, and of course the mother, should be questioned. However, this questioning must be based on concrete information and documentation. 

As for the claim that Melisa Sinem Akcan used drugs, it remains an 'allegation' voiced by some. It has not been investigated or verified. The word of a headman, an uncle, or a neighbor is not enough to make it news, and it should not have been. Furthermore, a report in Sabah included the information that, to date, 'no proceedings had been taken against Melisa Sinem Akcan for drugs or any shameful crime.'

Moreover, the person targeted by this claim is a mother who has lost five children, one way or another. While one should be even more careful, circulating an "allegation" that she uses drugs is a behavior that wounds the conscience. By smearing a person based on an unverified "allegation," we are also placing the entire responsibility for the death of her children upon her. 

I suggest that the journalist colleagues who—even if unintentionally—portray her as a "bad woman" read the DHA report titled "My children never leave my sight"... 

LACK OF INFORMATION IN ERDOĞAN'S CONTACTS

SETA General Coordinator and Sabah columnist Nebi Miş, as one might expect, poured his admiration for President Erdoğan's diplomatic "skill and experience" into his column titled "Leader diplomacy at summits." 

He emphasized that Erdoğan visited Albania and Serbia in the last month, and attended the BRICS summit in Kazan, the Organization of Turkic States summit in Bishkek, the European Political Community summit in Budapest, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Riyadh, and the World Leaders Climate Action Summit in Baku.

Nebi Miş is heaping praise, but at the same time, information about what happened during those trips and summits is being concealed. In reports published in the mainstream media, information is limited to: Erdoğan went, spoke, held meetings, and returned—that is all. News of Erdoğan's foreign contacts consists solely of his speeches, who he met with, and what he said to them. What did the people Erdoğan met with say in response? What happened at the summit he attended? This information is completely absent; it is deemed sufficient to report only what Erdoğan conveys from start to finish.

At the summit in Riyadh, Erdoğan appeared in the same frame as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the first time in a long while. While this "family photo" was published in pro-government media outlets, primarily Akşam, Türkgün, Sabah, Yeni Akit, and Yeni Şafak, Assad was not mentioned at all. Erdoğan had left the hall while Assad was speaking at the same summit; this significant development was also not addressed.

The Greek Cypriot media immediately reported on Erdoğan's meeting in Budapest with Nikos Christodoulides, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, which Turkey does not officially recognize, but most of the journalists on the plane missed it. Our mainstream media was only able to notice this surprise meeting the next day. 

At the Climate Summit in Baku, the news featured Erdoğan's speech and, to some extent, Aliyev's remarks. What decisions were made at the summit and what was discussed; the pro-government media did not delve into that. Whether the potential basing of Hamas in Turkey was discussed during the meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Al Thani was also absent. 

In short, propaganda journalism is being practiced, aimed at misleading through incomplete information. What should be done is to look at the summits and foreign contacts Erdoğan attends through the eyes of a journalist. To report what Erdoğan's counterparts said, the discussions, and the outcomes in a balanced and objective language... 

JOURNALISTS WHO ARE THE WOLVES OF JOURNALISTS

10Haber reporter Furkan Karabay was arrested solely for reporting on the appointment of a trustee to replace Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer and for social media posts that mentioned Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. He has been in prison for over a week. He is being punished in advance for practicing critical journalism. 

The reactions and statements from professional journalism organizations did not yield results either. But at the very least, they stood by Furkan Karabay and fulfilled the requirements of our professional principles. The Turkey Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities of Journalism includes the principle that "a journalist must be in solidarity with colleagues who are in difficult situations for professional reasons."

For the pro-government media, however, it makes no difference that Furkan Karabay is a journalist; they accuse and pass judgment in their reports. The newspaper Sabah tried to justify his arrest with the headline "He publicly spread misleading information," and Yeni Akit with "He had targeted the Chief Prosecutor, he was arrested."

Let alone a fellow journalist, no one should be subjected to such journalism...

In a single sentence:

In its report titled 'Ekrem at the mawlid' regarding Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor İmamoğlu, Yeni Akit used hate speech and targeted him by stating, 'In these days when Israel is subjecting Gazans to genocide, he showed off socks from Vakko, which is owned by a Jew.'

The report by Hürriyet and TGRT Haber claiming 'Trump appointed Pete Hegseth to the Ministry of Defense' was incorrect; since Trump has not yet taken office, he did not make an appointment but rather a nomination. Indeed, Trump used the word 'nominate' when announcing the names.  

Unlike most newspapers, Akşam continuously informs its readers by explicitly publishing the names of companies involved in food fraud, as announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

In the report regarding the death of three Iranian siblings in Antalya, the method of suicide should not have been described in detail, as it could set a dangerous precedent.  

Footage obtained by DW and minutes found by Odatv revealed that the Diyarbakır Governor's Office's denial on October 30 regarding reports that 'the Gendarmerie consulted a faith healer during the search for Narin Güran' did not reflect the truth. 

While Korkusuz published a promotional piece for an e-commerce platform titled 'The Villages of Tomorrow Project' with a 'This is an advertisement' disclaimer, the Türkiye newspaper published it as a news story without including any such warning note. 

The Anatolian Press Federation, which presents itself as a professional journalistic organization, invited only 'accredited' journalists to a chat meeting with AKP executive Hamza Dağ, just as it does during meetings with ministers. 

Hürriyet announced BP's withdrawal from the Turkish market, where it had operated for 111 years, as if it were a positive development, using the headline 'Petrol Ofisi merges with BP'.

On November 10, Pegasus flew a group of journalists to Thessaloniki; Atatürk's birthplace was visited, and the journalists reciprocated the invitation by publishing the company's general manager Güliz Öztürk's promotional statement. 

The Demirören Group's newspapers, Hürriyet, Milliyet, and Posta, which operate legal betting and games of chance in Turkey, published the news of the "illegal betting operation," in which figures such as M. Ali Erbil and Serdar Ortaç were also detained, on their front pages. 

Now TV did not cite Sözcü as a source in its report titled "TÜİK hid documents" regarding the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) failing to submit its inflation basket to the case at the Council of State.

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