Sawt Falasteen - Turkey blocks X account of British reporter

Alex Crawford told AFP she had been notified by X that her account was being blocked in Turkey, and had contacted the Turkish presidency to ask why but had received no answer.

Sky News "is contesting on a matter of principle," she said.

Turkey's Freedom of Expression Association (IFOD) said her account had been flagged in a mid-September court decision as the authorities began a major crackdown on the LGBTQ community for "obscenity" in the name of protecting family values.

It was the latest in a surge of blockages involving the accounts of journalists, media organisations, LGBTQ activists, women's rights groups, lawyers, unions, academics, financial experts and more.

Last Wednesday, Turkey shut down the website and social media accounts of leading independent news website T24, citing its "LGBT propaganda".

In a statement, the justice ministry said T24 had "produced 118 pieces of content constituting LGBT propaganda over the past year".

-'End escalating censorship'-

Last month, Turkish authorities blocked nearly 1,300 accounts -- a figure higher than the total for 2025, IFOD said on Friday, a day after its own EngelliWeb internet censorship monitoring account was blocked.

"In September, the wave of censorship turned into a tsunami. In one month, at least 1,270 X accounts were blocked from access," it added, saying together, the accounts had over 35 million followers.

"The number of X accounts blocked ... throughout 2025, a year marked by the events of March 19, was 995," it said of the date when Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested, sparking Turkey's worst street protests in over a decade.

It said the censorship went beyond the LGBTQ community to impact "a very wide range of groups" posting about anything seen by the authorities as controversial, which included recent posts on a sprawling investment fund crisis.

Reporters Without Borders said it was "very concerned" by the blocking of Crawford's X account.

"At a time when social media is an essential gateway for accessing news, X must ensure that legitimate reporting remains accessible and prominent on its platform," Felicity Garvey, RSF's advocacy manager said in a statement.

"This case is particularly concerning as it comes amid an escalation in the crackdown on Turkey's independent press."

She called on X to restore access to Crawford's account in Turkey and on Turkish authorities "to end this escalating censorship of journalism."

V.Said--SF-PST