Turkey blocked at least 1,270 X accounts in September, rights group says

October 3, 2026 at 01:52 PM2 min

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Turkey blocked at least 1,270 X accounts in September, surpassing the 995 blocked in all of 2025, the Freedom of Expression Association said. The blocks targeted journalists, LGBT+ groups, academics, and economists, with 941 occurring in the second half of the month. The association's EngelliWeb account, which documents such blocks, was itself blocked on October 1.

Key Facts

At least 1,270 X accounts were blocked in Turkey in September, according to the Freedom of Expression Association's EngelliWeb project.
The September figure exceeds the 995 X accounts blocked under Article 8/A of Internet Law 5651 during all of 2025.
941 of the September blocks occurred in the second half of the month.
The EngelliWeb X account, which has documented access blocks since 2008, was blocked on October 1.
The blocked accounts had a combined follower count exceeding 35 million, with 362 accounts having more than 10,000 followers.

Scale of September Blocks

The Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) reported that at least 1,270 X accounts were made inaccessible in Turkey during September. Approximately 90 percent of these accounts were hidden from Turkey by X itself, according to the association. The total surpasses the 995 X accounts blocked under Article 8/A of Internet Law 5651 throughout 2025. Of the September blocks, 941 were implemented in the second half of the month.

Targeted Accounts and Groups

The blocked accounts included journalists, news outlets, LGBT+ organizations, women's groups, human rights defenders, academics, and economists. Accounts belonging to LGBT+ organizations and activists were blocked under operations named 'Ailem Güvende', while many content creators were blocked on grounds of 'obscenity'. Blocks also extended to accounts posting about the fund crisis and the Narin Güran murder investigation. Among the blocked journalists were Erk Acarer, Naz Yavuzarslan, Canan Kaya, Meral Danyıldız, Özlem Akarsu Çelik, Fırat Fıstık, and İrem Afşin. News outlets Kısa Dalga, soL Haber, Mezopotamya Ajansı, JinNews, Velvele, and Kaos GL Haber also had their accounts blocked.

EngelliWeb Account Blocked

The EngelliWeb X account, which has documented access blocks since 2008, was blocked on October 1. X notified the account at 17:14 on October 1 that the action was taken pursuant to a decision communicated by the Cybersecurity Directorate (SGB) under Article 8/A of Law 5651. The details of the decision were not provided to İFÖD. İFÖD stated that the account documenting censorship had itself become a target.