The Presidency's Head of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, said during the "Human Rights Training" hosted at the AK Party Headquarters, "We are facing a regime of digital fascism, upheld by digital dictators."
Head of Communications Altun remarked that the Western human rights paradigm has collapsed and described the event as an opportunity for open inquiry and awareness-raising. He noted that the Western human rights paradigm was established and used from the outset to legitimise Western global hegemony, and that its failure has been visible over the past three decades in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gaza.
The Head of Communications, Altun emphasised the challenges faced in this trying time and in a complicated geography, stating that this era is marked by crises, uncertainty, and inconsistencies. He emphasised that the most basic issue in today's world is "justice."
The Head of Communications Altun stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's political movement prioritises the fight against injustice, which he is now taking to the global arena for a just world order.
He identified the source of global injustice as the Western colonial order and the "Western-dependent system" that reinforces and consolidates this order. He stated that the global system that perpetuates injustice is today facing multiple challenges and crises.
Fahrettin Altun pointed out that various challenges, such as wars, economic crises, pandemics, disasters, migrations, terrorism, and racism, are exacerbating oppressive policies around the world and said, "If there is no justice, there are no rights. Where there is injustice, there are no rights, and certainly no human rights. This injustice is something we must strive to overcome and address."
Fahrettin Altun underlined that, in the world scene today, the "crisis of truth" coexists with the "crisis of justice" and characterises these two crises as the biggest enemies of human rights. He emphasised that accurate information is the key component of truth.
He concluded by questioning the role of the media, both historically and now, arguing that the media should serve as the fourth power, protecting the public's interests and acting as a mechanism above politics.
Altun noted that the media failed to deliver an accurate flow of information, hindering genuine communication.
Global social media companies
Altun underlined that in the modern era, global media corporations and social media platforms have started to guide the flow of global communication from an ideological perspective, spread false information, and generate systematic disinformation, all of which violate human rights.
Head of Communications Altun went on to say:
"We are facing a regime of digital fascism, upheld by digital dictators. We must acknowledge and thoroughly familiarise ourselves with the ones we face. Their fundamental power strategy entails the colonisation and subjugation of our everyday existence. To achieve this goal, they are striving to foster a culture of artificial and excessive consumption, sustain a digital addiction system that numbs individuals, and manipulate political conduct through covert censorship and subtle motivation techniques. They are, of course, attempting to exempt themselves from the oversight, regulation, and legal interventions of states, particularly non-Western states, in all of these processes. They elevate themselves above the law, and they are unwilling to be held accountable."
"Our statement echoes that of the British Prime Minister"
Head of Communications Altun noted that the incidents in the UK were being closely monitored and the British Prime Minister made a call to social media platforms yesterday, saying, "Let me also say to large social media corporations and those who run them, violent disorder clearly whipped up online: that is also a crime. It's happening on your platforms and the law must be upheld everywhere," and went on to say:
"Our statement echoes that of the British Prime Minister. We believe it is inappropriate to incite criminality on the internet in any form. We say that the law should apply everywhere. Contrary to what the British Prime Minister claims, these corporations actually adopt a different attitude towards Western states and a different attitude towards non-Western states. Even Western states, with which social media corporations are cautious in their interactions, are discussing the necessity of regulation. While these companies mostly observe American, German, and French laws, they do not abide by the laws of the Republic of Türkiye, for example. Obviously, a sovereign and independent state, the Republic of Türkiye, will not and cannot accept this. We say that all the time. We must protect our rights and sovereignty in the cyber homeland just as we make our presence felt and defend our sovereign rights in the Blue Homeland and the Sky Homeland.
Our expectations from these social media platforms are quite clear: 'Respect our laws, our sovereign rights, and our citizens' freedom of expression. Do not pave the way for terrorism, organised crimes, or illicit activities. Cooperate with the Turkish judiciary, police, and institutions.' Our state is waging this struggle for the public interest and for the rights and freedoms of its citizens. As we fight this battle, I leave to the mercy of social conscience those who target us by blatantly lying in the name of populism and making remarks incompatible with hard evidence. So, what are we supposed to do? We must struggle and fight for accurate information, truth, and clean communication."
"Constitutional Court decision taken before BTK's decision on Instagram"
Head of Communications Altun also noted that the Centre for Combating Disinformation has been the target of some manipulations recently.
Head of Communications Altun reminded that the Constitutional Court invalidated certain articles of Presidential Decree No. 14, the founding decree for the Presidency's Directorate of Communication. He further stated that the Court ruled that legislation, not a presidential decree, must enact regulations and granted a time-frame of 9 months.
Stating that the lie that "the Constitutional Court took this decision after the Information Technologies Authority decided to block access to Instagram" was circulated, Altun reminded that the Constitutional Court's decision was taken and published in the Official Gazette before the decision on Instagram. Head of Communications Altun said, "There is a clear anachronism here. There is a material, tangible fact that can be demonstrated."
Stating that those who fail to recognise the state, rules, and institutions may fall for this lie in this process, Head of Communications Altun emphasised that it is unacceptable for people who are in politics and who present themselves as opinion leaders in the media to circulate a lie that can be so clearly refuted.
Stating that the lies that "the Centre for Combating Disinformation will be closed and devoid of any legal basis" by virtue of the decision of the Constitutional Court were also brought to the agenda, Head of Communications Altun said, "Our Centre for Combating Disinformation continues to work tirelessly. We are proud of the work conducted by our Centre for Combating Disinformation."
"We must develop domestic and national social media platforms"
Head of Communications Altun emphasised the importance of digital media literacy culture and its growth, stating that they create training materials in this area and work to raise public awareness. Fahrettin Altun said:
Just as our domestic and national media organisations have evolved and brands have been created in the process, similar ones must be created in the digital realm or in the sphere of digital media. I would like to appeal to the owners of traditional media outlets to invest considerably more in new media, specifically digital media. I'm not just talking about content creation. I am talking about the creation of local and national social media platforms. The social media platforms we are dealing with are privately owned. After investing in this industry, they discovered a large space for themselves while, sadly, deepening injustice and the crisis of truth in the world arena. Against this, we must create domestic and national social media platforms" At this point, the private sector plays an extremely important role. Our TV series sector is clearly successful all over the world. The success of Turkish businesses around the world is obvious. So long as we believe in it. Let's be confident in ourselves. In our capacity as an institution, we are prepared to provide all assistance we can in this process."
Head of Communications Altun also emphasised that freedom of communication, thought, expression, and receiving news and information are the most fundamental human rights, saying, "We support freedoms, but we cannot allow our citizens' rights and laws to be violated in the name of freedom. The most effective way for our citizens to exercise this right is through the collective pursuit of justice and truth. We will persist in our efforts to fight this struggle under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan."
AK Party Deputy Chairman Hasan Basri Yalçın presented Head of Communications Altun with a gift after his speech.
