[6] Some have argued that Yeni Akit often uses harsh language and strong points of view in reporting on these issues, giving rise to the perception that the media is discrediting or even inciting tensions against minorities.
[7] With strong views on both sides, the controversy surrounding Yeni Akit reflects Turkey's complex socio-political dynamics, where conservative and secular values often clash in public discourse.
[8][9][10] Vakit had been charged with encouraging the 2006 Turkish Council of State shooting of a judge, which was notionally a protest against a decision blocking the appointment of a teacher wearing a headscarf as principal of a nursery school.
As a newspaper with a conservative approach, Yeni Akit often reviews topics such as the role of the family, public morality, and social policies that are in accordance with religious and traditional values.
In addition, this newspaper often engages in hate speech against secularists, freemasons, and various other socio-political currents, such as socialism, communism, pan-Turkism, Kemalism, and groups such as the Grey Wolves and feminists.
[14][15] In September 2014, Yeni Akit columnist Faruk Cose called for Turkish Jews to be taxed to pay for reconstructing buildings damaged in Gaza during Israel's Operation Protective Edge.
[16] In July 2014, the newspaper used a picture of Adolf Hitler as the centerpiece for its daily word game, and the phrase "Seni arıyoruz" translating to ''We long for you'' as the answer to the puzzle.
"[18] In the aftermath of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting the newspaper published a headline calling the victims "deviants" or "perverted",[19] which in turn was criticized by foreign media outlets.
Aggravated Felony Court's final hearing found Vakit newspaper columnist 78-year-old Hüseyin Üzmez convicted for sexually abusing a minor and was sentenced to 13 years 1 month 15 days in prison.
[37] Following the Orlando nightclub shooting, the newspaper published a headline calling the victims "deviant" or "perverted,"[38] which in turn was criticized by foreign media outlets.
[39] During the 2017 Dutch–Turkish diplomatic incident, Yeni Akit wrote a suggestive article which noted that while there were "400,000 Turks living in the Netherlands," the Dutch army "has 48,000 soldiers.