The newspaper has been frequently called a propaganda outlet for the Turkish government and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

After the conflict in December 2013 between the Gulen movement, a religious civil society organization with some political aspirations, and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Gulen movement's Today's Zaman turned into an ardent critic of the ruling AKP.

[13] Daily Sabah has been described as using transparent, ill-formed, and Turkish-style propaganda to advance the AKP government's version of events by Der Spiegel.

The European Parliament has made accusations about the lack of freedom of speech and expression in Turkey, and Daily Sabah defends the AKP government's human rights record.

Meanwhile, the EU Affairs Minister for Turkey Ömer Çelik, who is also a member of AKP per se, said the following about the issue: "The European Parliament's ban on the freedom of press is a tragic event for the future of Europe.