16.10.2026 16:04
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed administrative fines on Sözcü TV and KOZA TV due to allegations that do not reflect the truth regarding the fund investigation.
According to the statement made by RTÜK, the Board convened to discuss the broadcast violations on the agenda.
The Board addressed the broadcast violations on Sözcü TV in the program “Gazeteci Masası,” broadcast on October 7, presented by Serap Belovacıklı and featuring journalists Barış Terkoğlu, Murat Ağırel, İsmail Saymaz and Saygı Öztürk as guests, and in the program “Bir Saat,” hosted by Damla Doğan Tuncel on October 8.
SAYMAZ’S CLAIM ABOUT MINISTER BOLAT
It was stated that in the programs in question, İsmail Saymaz, one of the guests, claimed that Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat was among the VIP members of a certain financial structure, that some companies played a role in the process of increasing the value of the fund in question, and that the Minister was one of those who invested in the fund at an early stage; and in the broadcast the following day, host Damla Doğan Tuncel was seen to have made allegations against AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik by saying “intricate relations” over a photo taken at an event.
It was reported that the Supreme Council, having determined that Sözcü TV prevented the accurate and healthy formation of viewer opinion regarding ministers and government officials in the programs in question, imposed an administrative fine on Sözcü TV for violating the provision in Article 8, paragraph 1, clause (ı) of Law No. 6112 on the Establishment and Broadcasting Services of Radio and Television.
BROADCAST VIOLATIONS ON KOZA TV
It was stated that the broadcast violations in the programs “Gün İzi,” moderated by Evren Özalkuş, and “Günün Sonunda,” moderated by Sorel Dağıstanlı, broadcast on KOZA TV on October 8, were evaluated by the Supreme Council.
It was conveyed that the statements expressed in the program about the fund investigation, “We are talking about an organized crime. We are talking about an emphasis in which all names of the government are involved, included,” associated all members of a certain political segment with grave criminal accusations, that the allegations in question were conveyed with statements containing certainty, and that the host did not even ask the source of these allegations.
Therefore, it was recorded that an administrative fine was imposed on KOZA TV for violating the provision “It must take the principles of impartiality, reality and accuracy as a basis and must not prevent the free formation of opinion in society; news whose investigation is possible within the framework of press professional principles cannot be broadcast without investigation or without being sure of its accuracy.”