Turkey media watchdog approves anti-LGBTQ+ advert

Turkey’s media watchdog has approved an advert for an anti-LGBTQ+ event.

RTÜK, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, the watchdog that oversees radio, television and on-demand media services in the country, has ruled that an advertisement promoting an event by family values organisation Büyük Aile Platformu can be broadcast.

Büyük Aile Platformu (the Big Family Platform) is critical of the LGBTQ+ community and is set to hold an event on 17 September in İstanbul’s Sarachane Park, during which there will be a call for a ban on “LGBT propaganda [for] our children, families and humanity”.

On its website, the organisation claims “there has never been a period in human history when the family has been so targeted and threatened”, and cites “gender ideology” as one such threat.

In a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, RTÜK member Tuncay Keser said the advertisement was approved with a majority vote at a meeting on Wednesday (6 September).

“RTÜK, which is responsible for ensuring that broadcasts are not against gender equality, approved the public-service announcement about the ‘Stop LGBT propaganda’ event to be organised by the Istanbul Family Foundation, which rejects gender equality,” he wrote.