Turkey's media watchdog fines broadcasters for wildfire coverage
Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has fined Fox TV over a reporter's remarks referring to the wildfires as “nightmarish,” Duvar news agency reported.
The fine decision was taken during a meeting of RTÜK on Aug. 11 and was shared with the public by RTÜK member Onur Konuralp on social media.
“Due to FOX TV reporter's remarks of 'The flames are coming so fast, like a nightmare' on a live broadcast, the channel was fined,” Konuralp said.
RTÜK also released a statement saying that it has analyzed Fox TV's broadcast on wildfires for three days. The council argued that the channel's reporting was “far away from journalism at the time of a crisis, misleading about the rulership and caused panic, fear and uproar in the viewers.”
Apart from Fox TV, RTÜK also fined five other channels including KRT, Tele 1, HaberTürk, Halk TV and TR 35 over their broadcast on wildfires as well as other topics.
Last week, RTÜK threatened broadcasters by saying that penalties will be imposed on those covering the wildfires without abiding by its rules. The watchdog, known for censoring channels critical of the government, claimed that some broadcasters are trying to create chaos among the public.