Media censorship and disinformation during the Gezi Park protests

The 2013 Gezi Park protests in Turkey saw massive amounts of censorship and disinformation by the mainstream media,[1] especially by those supporting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The whole country seemed to be experiencing a cognitive disconnect, with Twitter saying one thing, the government saying another, and the television off on another planet.As a result of the lack of mainstream media coverage, social media played a key role in keeping people informed, with Twitter hashtags #OccupyGezi and #DirenGeziParki ("Resist, Gezi Park") being adopted.

"[21] A December 2012 Pew Research Center study showed 35% of Turks using social networking sites.

[25] There were reports that the 3G signal in some areas had been turned off; in response, some shops and offices removed security from their Wifi networks.

The footage was originally aired in 2010 but featured doctored dates, implying the current demonstrations were somehow secessionist in nature.

[52] Takvim newspaper devoted its front page to a fake "interview" with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, in which Amanpour supposedly confesses that CNN's coverage of the protests was motivated by "the express interest of destabilizing Turkey for international business interests".

This NTV broadcast van has been covered with protest graffiti, in response to the indifference of mainstream media to protests.
Penguin art at Gezi Park, satirizing the extended CNN Turk broadcast of a documentary on penguins despite the massive protests occurring on the streets. [ 1 ]
Protesters in front of NTV , which also broadcast a documentary instead of the protests.