‘Isn’t it the Ministry’s duty to prevent hate speech in the media?’
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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İstanbul MP Züleyha Gülüm has addressed a Parliamentary question to Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and raised concerns about hate speech in the media.
Züleyha Gülüm has asked the Minister "whether he thinks that the increase in hate speech in Turkey's printed, visual and social media can be attributed to the policy of impunity." The MP has also asked, "Isn't it the duty of your Ministry to prevent hate speech in the media?"
'Impunity makes hate speech more widespread'
Before addressing her questions to Ersoy, HDP MP Gülüm has raised concerns over the language use in the printed, visual and social media about different ethnic and religious groups, women, LGBTI+s, refugees and other groups, underlining that the language use in these platforms are degrading, discriminatory and portraying the related groups as enemies.
"As a result of this, the related groups are occasionally subjected to attacks," Gülüm has noted and added, "The fact that hate speech ends in impunity most of the time leads this language to get more widespread."
5,515 hate speech items in a year
Within this context, Gülüm has also referred to the "Hate Speech and Discriminatory Discourse in Media 2019 Report" of Hrant Dink Foundation.
Prepared as part of the Media Watch on Hate Speech project, the report shows that 4 thousand 364 articles and news stories targeted national, ethnic and religious groups in Turkey throughout last year.
108 of these articles and stories targeted more than one group and had hate speech items in different categories. It is seen that 5,515 hate speech items were used against 80 different groups in these texts.
The report also reveals that Armenians, Syrians and Greeks were the most frequently targeted groups, who were followed by Jews (676 hate speech items), Rums (Greek) (603), Christians (604), English (223), French (140), Arabs (123) and non-Muslims (98).
51 percent of hate speech were produced in the local press while the remaining 49 percent was detected in the national press.
'Do you feel responsible for this hate speech?'
Against this background, Züleyha Gülüm has addressed a series of questions to Minister of Culture Ersoy, including the following:
"Has any criminal sanction been imposed on related press and media organizations or persons over hate speech against aforementioned groups? Which press and media organizations or persons have been subjected to what criminal sanctions?
"Do you think that the increase in hate speech in printed, visual and social media can be attributed to the policy of impunity in effect? Isn't it the Ministry's duty to prevent hate speech in the media?
"Do you think that the political language used by the government and its securitizing policies pave the way for hate speech in the media? Do you feel responsible for the media's language as the Ministry?
"While the tiniest criticisms against the government voiced in the media can be subjected to an investigation, what is the reason for the indifference to the statements discriminating against the opposition and other groups and portraying them as enemies?
"Are you currently undertaking any works to prevent hate speech against different ethnic and religious groups, women, LGBTI+s, refugees and other groups in the printed, visual and social media in Turkey?" (SO/SD)
