AT THE start of its offensive against Kurdish insurgents in Syria’s Afrin province last month, Turkey’s prime minister, Binali Yildirim, held a morning briefing with more than a dozen editors of the country’s leading news outlets. According to accounts of the meeting, the journalists were provided with guidelines on how to cover the unfolding war. Reporters were asked to “bear in mind Turkey’s national interests”, one participant recalled. News published in the foreign media was to be treated with caution as it was likely to give a platform to “terrorist propaganda”. Readers were to be reminded that the army would take the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties. The coverage was to highlight that Turkish troops would be fighting Islamic State (IS) gunmen in addition to Kurdish ones—though IS has no presence in Afrin.
With a handful of exceptions, Turkey’s media have followed the government’s recommendations to the letter. The main channels have competed to be first to report on...Continue reading
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