Combating Gender Disinformation in Turkey
Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR)
Giving Voice, Driving Change
THE BIG PICTURE
Gender equality is under increasing attack in Turkey, with malign information a key tool in reinforcing harmful stereotypes.
A new Turkish-language handbook from IWPR aims to help women journalists navigate an often-perilous environment that can encompass online harassment and real-world violence.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
“Women [in Turkey] are not treated in the same way as male journalists,” Istanbul-based TV personality Nevşin Mengü said in an interview for the handbook. “I have encountered everything from those who are afraid of communicating with women journalists to those who try to belittle women on the basis of their gender and try not to address them.”
Amid authoritarianism and religious-based social conservativism, fundamental rights of women and the LGBTI community are depicted as foreign imports threatening Turkish culture and sovereignty.
“The most important example of this was in 2021 when Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women,” said Damla Ugantas, IWPR Turkey project manager. This regional accord, under the Council of Europe, came into force a decade ago, with 45 signatories, including Turkey.
“The presidnet's office issued a statement that that ‘the Istanbul Convention has been manipulated by a group trying to normalise homosexuality’ regarding the decision to withdraw,” she said. “In Turkey, disinformation against women and LGBTI people goes hand in hand.”
WHY IT MATTERS
In Turkey, as in many other places around the world, malign information on gender and sexuality plays a central role in a wider pushback against civil liberties and freedom of speech.
Social media accounts linked to the governing party amplify messages undermining equal rights for women, and these communications networks are so dominating they threaten freedom of expression in the country.
Using scenarios, case studies, practical exercises and expert interviews, IWPR’s handbook lays out crucial skills journalists can use to identify and combat malicious narratives used to target individuals and polarise communities.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Turkey handbook builds on IWPR’s wider work on malign information on gender issues in Moldova and the South Caucasus. It supports IWPR projects focusing on the particular challenges women journalists face across Turkey, especially in local newsrooms outside the capital.
“The handbook aims to reach local journalists outside of Istanbul, where most of the media congregate,” project manager Ugantas said. “The rights to freedom of expression of all, including seeking and receiving information, are threatened by news and posts based on gendered disinformation.”
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