On 13 January 1965 the paper was confiscated by the Turkish authorities shortly after the publication of the letter of the US President Lyndon B. Johnson to İsmet İnönü.

In March 2009, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, expressed public concern about the fine, saying that it threatened "pluralism and freedom of the press.

[15][16] The September fine caused further expressions of public concern from the European Commission, as well as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

[17] It also caused some critics and global investors[18] to compare the fines to then-Russian President Vladimir Putin's use of tax-evasion charges to bankrupt oil company Yukos for allegedly political reasons.

[17] Hürriyet, along with Pantene, sponsors the annual Golden Butterfly Awards, in which its readers vote for nominees in the fields of Turkish television and music.