T24 learned of the decision by the Turkish Ministry of Justice to close its news portal, although it did not receive an official notification. On the day the news was released, the T24 website was still active but indicated uncertainty about whether the measure would affect all its publications or only its social media accounts.
On the website's homepage, there was an article mentioning that T24 would be closed due to a defamation campaign initiated on social media. T24 itself pointed out that a defamatory campaign against it was occurring, orchestrated by accounts on the X platform.
T24 cited the text published on these X accounts, which alleged that the debate on freedom of the press revolved around funds supposedly transferred to the portal. The accusatory text claimed that T24, known for publishing content focused on family structure, especially LGBT material, had a clear intention.
In contrast, the statement from the Turkish Ministry of Justice informed that T24's accounts, an online portal that allegedly published 118 pieces of LGBT propaganda content in the previous year, were closed by the Istanbul Court of First Instance. This determination was passed to the Cybersecurity Directorate for execution.
This closure occurred after a broad operation targeting the LGBT community in Turkey on September 12, which preceded the blocking of numerous social media accounts. Subsequently, authorities made new arrests in response to demonstrations held in the country's three largest cities: Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir.
Although homosexuality is not criminalized in Turkey, it is widely condemned, and homophobia is generalized even at the highest levels of the State. The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, frequently classifies LGBT community members as 'perverse,' attributing the sharp decline in the birth rate to them.
Founded in 2009 and based in Istanbul, T24 calls itself the largest independent news site in Turkey.