RSF: World Press Freedom Index 2025 – Türkiye
- NCCA
- Nov 10, 2025
- 2 min read
RSF Reporters Without Borders, 2025
Overview
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) assesses press freedom in Türkiye as being under severe and sustained threat. In the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Türkiye ranks 159th out of 180 countries, reflecting deep structural constraints on independent journalism, media pluralism, and access to reliable information.
RSF attributes this decline to authoritarian governance, judicial pressure, economic control over media institutions, and a hostile environment for critical reporting. Journalists, editors, and media outlets operate under constant risk of prosecution, censorship, and intimidation.
Key Findings
Severe global ranking: Türkiye ranks 159/180 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, placing it among the lowest-performing countries worldwide.
Media capture: RSF reports that approximately 90% of national media outlets are under direct or indirect government control, significantly limiting pluralism.
Judicial harassment: Journalists face arbitrary prosecutions, lawsuits, and detention under charges such as “spreading disinformation” or “insult.”
Post-election repression: Following the 2023 elections, violence, mass arrests, and legal actions against journalists covering protests and political events increased.
Economic pressure: State advertising, fines, and regulatory penalties are used to financially weaken or silence critical media outlets.
Online censorship: Systematic online restrictions and content removals undermine independent reporting and public access to information.
Safety risks: Journalists reporting on corruption, protests, religious issues, or extremism face threats, intimidation, and a culture of impunity.
Ongoing detentions: As of 2025, journalists remain detained, with judicial harassment continuing as a primary tool of repression.
Why This is Important
RSF’s findings provide critical context for understanding the broader human rights environment in Türkiye, particularly the imprisonment of journalists, media executives, and civil society actors documented by NCCA.
The erosion of press freedom:
Enables arbitrary detention and unfair trials
Limits public scrutiny of the justice system
Obstructs accountability for human rights violations
Contributes directly to the rise in prisoners of conscience
Restrictions on independent media do not occur in isolation; they are part of a broader pattern of repression that facilitates prolonged detention, silencing of dissent, and violations of international human rights standards.
Tags
Turkey · Media Control · Internet Freedom · Censorship · Surveillance · Digital Rights
Authoritarian Governance · Freedom of Information · Media Pluralism · Judicial Pressure
Independent Journalism · State Media Influence · Democratic Backsliding
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