Following the Constitutional Court's annulment of the Communication Directorate’s authority to act against disinformation, Veysel Ok, Co-Director of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), stated that the Center for Combating Disinformation has lost its reason for existence. However, the Communication Directorate claims that the center will not be affected by the decision.
On August 2, the Constitutional Court released a decision annulling the authority granted to the Communication Directorate by a Presidential Decree to act against disinformation targeting the Republic of Turkey. The court argued that basic rights and freedoms cannot be regulated by a Presidential Decree.
The future of the Center for Combating Disinformation within the Communication Directorate has become a topic of debate following the decision. Veysel Ok asserted that with the annulment, the Directorate can no longer take any measures against disinformation, rendering the Center for Combating Disinformation legally baseless.
The Communication Directorate, in response, claimed that the Center for Combating Disinformation's operations will remain unaffected by the court’s decision. The Directorate emphasized that the center’s legal foundation lies within the general duties of the Directorate, thus it would not be impacted by the annulment.
Ok accuses the Directorate of spreading disinformation
Veysel Ok criticized the Directorate’s statement, claiming, “It is clear that the Constitutional Court annulled the censorship authority over information and communication tools of the Center for Combating Disinformation. Any information to the contrary is, in itself, disinformation.”
Directorate’s powers on disinformation annulled
The Presidential Decree No. 66, which amended Decree No. 14 concerning the Communication Directorate, was published in 2020. This decree established the Department of Strategic Communication and Crisis Management within the Directorate. Among the Directorate’s duties outlined in the decree were:
- Analyzing internal and external threats to the Republic of Turkey and implementing necessary measures in terms of strategic communication and crisis management.
- Identifying and countering psychological operations, propaganda, and perception operations against the Republic of Turkey, including all forms of manipulation and disinformation.
Challenged by the Republican People's Party (CHP), the decree was annulled by the Constitutional Court on December 27. The court's reasoning was published in the Official Gazette on August 2.
What is the Center for Combating Disinformation?
Announced by the Communication Directorate on August 5, 2022, the Center for Combating Disinformation claims to monitor disinformation through its social media accounts and its publication, the Disinformation Bulletin. According to a statement on its website, the center aims to "detect disinformation, an essential part of domestic and international perception operations, conspiracy theories, and manipulation attempts, at an early stage and address them simultaneously."
