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Turkish state broadcaster TRT registers as a 'foreign agent' in US
Turkish state broadcaster TRT registers as a 'foreign agent' in US
The Turkish state TV has registered as a foreign agent in America, under legislation that requires institutions to declare relationships with foreign governments.
2 min read
The news outlet has been accused of bias [Getty]
Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT has registered in the US Justice Department as a foreign agent, following legislation that requires individuals and institutions to declare their relationship to foreign governments.
Lobbying filings seen by AI Monitor says TRT World was supervised by a foreign organisation, Turkey’s state broadcast watchdog RTUK, and the filing said the organisation had received funds from the Turkish public.
It denied long-held accusations of ties to the Turkish government and political parties.
The filing was signed by Tuncay Yurekli, TRT World’s Washington bureau chief, and insisted the news channel was an autonomous legal entity with its own board of directors.
Accusations of media bias has followed TRT World, and last year Twitter reportedly censured the Turkish media outlet since it started military operations in the southern border and creating safe zones for displaced Syrian war victims.
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At the time TRT’s directors accused Twitter of targeting the news outlet.
Serdar Karagoz, the editor-in-chief of TRT International Channels, expressed his disappointment with Twitter restricting their content and said: "The truth hurts".
"Twitter’s recent ban on TRT World’s content raises concerns over Twitter’s credibility for providing a platform for free speech," Karagoz told Anadolu agency.
TRT World is a 24-hour channel that broadcasts news in English, with offices in Washington DC, London and Singapore.
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