Turkey has blocked the X account of Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford, she confirmed on Monday, as part of a wider crackdown that has made at least 1,275 accounts inaccessible on the platform during September.
Crawford told AFP that she received two notifications from X before her account became inaccessible. Sky News said it would, in principle, challenge the decision.
Crawford criticises media crackdown
Crawford said the blocking appeared to be part of a wider campaign targeting Turkish journalists, academics, media freedom organisations, human rights groups and LGBTQ+ rights organisations.
She said she appeared to be the only foreign journalist affected by the latest wave so far and said she had received no explanation for the action.
According to Crawford, X notifications stated that the blocking was based on a decision under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Law No. 5651 and had been forwarded to the platform by the country’s Cybersecurity Presidency.
More than 1,275 X accounts blocked
The Freedom of Expression Association (IFÖD), which monitors online censorship in Turkey, said at least 1,275 X accounts were made inaccessible during September.
The organisation described the developments as a “tsunami” of censorship, saying the restrictions have extended beyond LGBTQ+ groups to journalists and media outlets, human rights defenders, women’s organisations, academics, economists and political and religious groups.
IFÖD said 995 X accounts had been blocked throughout 2025, meaning the number blocked in September alone exceeded the total for the previous year.
T24 news website also shut down
The latest measures have also affected independent media.
Turkish authorities announced last Wednesday that they had shut down independent news website T24, accusing it of publishing 118 articles containing “LGBTQ+ propaganda” over a one-year period.
T24 international news editor Büşe Söğütlü described the move to AFP as an attack on journalism itself.
Turkey’s government has pledged to continue its anti-LGBTQ+ campaign despite criticism from the European Union and international non-governmental organisations.
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