Doğan Media Group to go to courts over slander

ISTANBUL

Doğan Media Group has announced that it will file complaints against two pro-government media outlets over “an ongoing campaign of lies and slander.”

“Baseless accusations and lies by some newspapers and broadcasters close to the government, which target the Doğan Group, have increased in the recent weeks,” the group said in a statement on July 1.

Most recently, on June 29, daily Yeni Şafak and broadcaster A Haber accused Doğan Media Group of “being in an alliance with the PKK,” referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. 

Describing itself as a group that faithfully contributes to Turkey and its democracy, the group’s statement called the claims “ugly” and an attempted “honor assassination.” 

“We trust in Turkish society’s common sense [to not believe] the slander,” it said.

The group said it initiated the legal process with both the court and Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) to eliminate misinformation for the public’s sake, claiming the “baseless” slander was being repeated by these outlets. It also criticized the outlets for describing “the slightest criticism as high treason.”

“No government can earn a reputation with media like this. It can never persuade the public of its polices with this media,” the statement said. “Any government that believes in democracy, listens to the voice of its conscience and sustains its links to basic ethical principles should distance itself from such a media,” it added.