10/04/2023 | Writer: Selma Koçak
According to the 2022 Media Monitoring Report published by Kaos GL with the subtitle “The Great Confinement”, 55 percent of the texts covered in print media included the hate call “LGBTI+ associations should be closed”.
Kaos GL Association published the annual media monitoring report. Media Monitoring Report 2022, which examines the all the LGBTI+ related news articles, columns and interviews covered in the print media, was published with the subtitle “The Great Confinement”.
Ali Özbaş conducted the research for the 2022 report of the association, which focuses on LGBTI+ representation in the media for 15 years. Yıldız Tar, Media and Communication Program Coordinator of the association, wrote the report. Tar, evaluated 2022 report at the press conference held, as follows:
“Political hostility campaign turned into ‘The Great Confinement’”
“While hate speech and discrimination resonate rapidly and widespread with a multiplier effect on; the impact area of media outlets that pay regard to LGBTI+ rights remains limited. This is also due to the fact that media outlets, that pay regard to LGBTI+ rights, have much more limited financial means, distribution network and political support than the ones which adopt an anti-LGBTI+ broadcasting. In brief, the attitude of the government has become more decisive than ever in the polarization and anti-LGBTI+ hate campaigns we have revealed within the scope of the report.
Anti-LGBTI+ attitude and LGBTI+ hostility in the media is not accidental or coincident. Both in this report and our other monitoring studies, we realize that the policy of hostility is activated in the media correspondingly to the anti- LGBTI+ statements of the President, ministers or high-level public officials. On the one hand, the media also gets the message across politicians and society to ‘be against LGBTI+’. When it comes to LGBTI+s and their rights, anti-LGBTI+ media carries out both reflexive and proactive broadcasting hand in hand.
In 2022, the political hostility campaign, which has been going on for years, turned into almost ‘The Great Confinement’ for LGBTI+s. In addition, hate rallies, which targeted LGBTI+ existence and organizations and were carried out in 15 provinces with the claim of closure of LGBTI+ associations and punishment for homosexuality, put forward that smear campaigns conducted by the media create far greater risk.”
Highlights of the report: More than half of the coverage made a call for closure of LGBTI+ associations
Highlights of the report, for which 4291 news articles, columns and interviews regarding LGBTI+s in print media were examined, are as follows:
- Discrimination, hate speech and prejudice against LGBTI+s in print media, reached a record high in 2022. LGBTI+s were portrayed as “immoral”, “criminal”, “perverse” or “enemy” in 66 percent of news and columns in print media.
- Hate rallies and debates on constitutional amendments, which marked LGBTI+ hostility in 2022, were used as a stick to beat with producing hate speech by the media. More than half (55 percent) of the news articles and columns in print media, reporters and columnists made a call for the closure of LGBTI+ associations.
- Discrimination reached a record high. Discrimination, itself, has become the main purpose of writing the news.
- Hate speech was generated within the scope of 1453 texts, corresponding to 33 percent of all texts.
- Newspapers called LGBTI+ community and organizations “criminals” 1867 times, “immoral” 1674 times, “perverse” 1338 times, “sick” 853 times, and “sinner” 986 times.
- LGBTI+ rights were paid regard only in 34 percent of the total 4291 texts in the print media.
- On the other hand, half of the news articles and columns, which paid regard to LGBTI+ rights, was composed of reporting violation of rights such as discrimination and hate speech. If we exclude news items regarding hate speech and discrimination; LGBTI+s could take place on newspaper pages only when they were subjected to a hate crime or discrimination.
- LGBTI+ organizations, were the source of news regarding LGBTI+s in only 50 out of 4291 news articles and columns.
· Instead of being represented in the media as subjects who have lives, wills and rights, LGBTI+s continued to be represented as “a problem” spoken of in the media, so to speak.
CLICK HERE for the 2022 Media Monitoring Report in Turkish.
Tags: media
