The newspaper is known for its hardline support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party and has a very close relationship with the Turkish government.

[11] After the grammatical errors, particularly "milk port", became a sensation on social media, Yeni Şafak finally admitted some parts were fabricated and removed the entire interview from its web site.

According to a report published by Hrant Dink Foundation, Yeni Şafak was the primary newspaper generating hate speech against Gezi protesters.

[15] The paper also claimed a headscarved woman was attacked by a gang of shirtless protesters near Dolmabahce Mosque at a tram station on 1 June 2013.

[16][17] On 10 June Yeni Şafak claimed that a theatrical play called "Mi Minor," allegedly supported by an agency in the United Kingdom, had held rehearsals for a "revolution" in Turkey for months.

[23][24] On 23 and 30 July 2014 Yeni Şafak columnist İbrahim Tenekeci resorted to hate speech against Jews and identified them as "eternal pain of humanity".

[28] On 6 June 2012 Yeni Şafak columnist A. Fuat Erdoğan resorted to hate speech[clarification needed] against pro-abortion women.