HALL researcher Oğuzhan Yeşiltuna was recently interviewed by the Turkish Psychiatry Association (Türkiye Psikiyatri Derneği) about online disinformation, freedom of expression and health. The interview mainly discusses the crime of “publicly disseminating misleading information”, which was added to the Criminal Code in the post-Covid era, from a freedom of expression perspective. The relevant law stipulates imprisonment for anyone who publicly disseminates untrue information about the country’s internal and external security, public order and public health in a way that is likely to disrupt public peace, with the sole intention of creating distress, fear or panic among the public. Despite the alleged aim of alignment with EU regulations, particularly the GDPR and the Digital Services Act, the law raises serious concerns in terms of the ECHR standards such as foreseeability and necessity. Moreover, two years of implementation show that the law has been instrumentalised to suppress dissenting voices, including investigative journalism that concerns public health. The interview proposes that true alignment with European standards will be achieved through steps to build a trustworthy information ecosystem, such as ensuring accountability and transparency, rather than imposing content-based criminal restrictions.
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