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IPFS News Link • Turkey

Turkey Adopts Legislation That Could Jail Journalists For 'Disinformation'

• https://www.zerohedge.com by Mimi Nguyen Ly

Lawmakers from President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which together have a majority, voted in parliament on Thursday to approve the legislation. The bill now goes to Erdogan for final approval.

While government officials have said the highly controversial bill is needed to combat fake news and disinformation, opposition members of parliament as well as European countries and media rights activists have called to scrap it.

Many have taken issue with article 29 in the measure, saying that it may be used to enforce censorship and quash free speech, as well as threaten independent journalism, since the Turkish government currently controls a majority of major news outlets in the country.

Article 29 says that people who are found guilty of spreading false information online intended to "create fear and disturb public order" could be punished with a prison sentence of one to three years.


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