Türkiye fines broadcasters for coverage critical of earthquake response – The Guardian

Türkiye’s media regulator fined three broadcasters for reporting shortcomings in the government’s response to the February 6 earthquake.

Babel reports this, citing the Guardian.

Halk TV, Tele 1 and FOX were all handed fines. The former two were fined 5% of their January revenues. They were also ordered to suspend one of their daily programmes for five days.

The three channels are known for editorial lines critical of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Halk TV is strongly aligned with the CHP party, Türkiye’s main opposition.

Türkiye in October passed a law punishing the dissemination of “fake news” by up to three years in prison.

The February 6 earthquake resulted in over 41,000 confirmed deaths in Türkiye and over 5,000 reported deaths in Syria.