Ahval is an Emirati-funded online

news website An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...

that solely reports on

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The site was launched in 2017. Turkish journalist

Yavuz Baydar Yavuz Baydar is the Editor-in-Chief of Ahval, an online news site published in English, Turkish and Arabic. Baydar is a Turkish journalist, blogger and an activist for media freedom and independence. Baydar has lived outside Turkey since the 2 ...

is the current editor-in-chief. The name ''Ahval'' means "events" and is a Turkish Arabism derivation from "ahwal". In February 2018, Ahval was blocked by the Turkish government for users in Turkey. In an interview with observatoireturquie.fr, Baydar stated that the site has 230,000 daily visitors. Talking to German newspaper ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

'', Baydar said that the creation of Ahval aimed "to fill a gap caused by media bans and self-censorship in Turkey." The (English language) pages do not show any new articles since early November 2022.

Ownership

The website is owned by Ahval News Ltd, which is based in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. According to

Qantara.de Qantara.de (Classical Arabic: , meaning 'bridge') is an Internet portal in German, English, and Arabic, produced by the German Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations in order to promote intercultural dialogue between the Western and Islam ...

Ahval are financially supported by London media organisation "Al Arab", who are subsidized by the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Qantara criticised Ahval's Arabic language service for not being as neutral as its English language version. Baydar responded to claims about Ahval's funding by an undemocratic regime by saying "whatever your financier, what matters is independence. When I worked in England, at the BBC World Service, it was never a problem for me to have this institution partially funded by the London government." The Turkish government claims that Ahval is used as a counter-propaganda tool against Turkey’s president.

Criticism

Alleged links to Gülen movement

Ahval has been accused by Turkey of having links to the

Gülen movement The Gülen movement () or Hizmet movement () is an Islamist fraternal movement. It is a sub-sect of Sunni Islam based on a Nursian theological perspective as reflected in Fethullah Gülen's religious teachings. It is referred to by its membe ...

, which Turkey sees as a terrorist organization and blames it for the failed coup attempt in 2016. Editor-in-chief Yavuz Baydar, who left Turkey following the coup attempt in 2016, had prosecution cases opened against him in Turkey in 2016 on charges of ties to the Gülen movement. In October 2018, the 27th High Criminal Court in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

reportedly wanted Ilhan Tanır to be charged along with Can Dündar. Tanir, formerly head of Ahval's English desk, and ''

Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...

''s Washington correspondent at the time, denies these links. Editor Ergun Babahan is also accused of being a follower of

Fethullah Gülen Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (27 April 1941 – 20 October 2024) was a Turkish Ulama, Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement who as of 2016 had millions of followers. Gülen was an influential Neo-Ottomanism, neo-Ottomanist, A ...

. Yavuz Baydar denies that the site has any affiliation with Gülen. He states that "We are not the mouthpiece of any interest group nor are we part of any activist movement." Ahval has published critical commentary on Gülen's movement by authors like Nick Ashdown and Gökhan Bacık. Bacık had left the Gülen movement and "started writing critical and highly informative pieces on both the Gülen movement and Islamic conservatism." Turkish journalist Cengiz Candar, writing for

al-Monitor ''Al-Monitor'' is a news website launched in 2012 by the Arab-American entrepreneur Jamal Daniel. Based in Washington, D.C., ''Al-Monitor'' provides reporting and analysis from and about the Middle East. ''Al-Monitor'' is the recipient of the I ...

, noted that "Police raids of residences have targeted many linked to the failed coup. But to associate Baydar with the coup is impossible."

Bias in Arabic version

The Arabic version of Ahval is criticized for not demonstrating political neutrality on topics regarded as sensitive subjects by the regimes in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

such as the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

. An example is a piece by ''

Al-Arab ''Al-Arab'' or ''Alarab'' ( meaning ''The Arabs'') is a pan-Arab newspaper published from London, England, and sold in a number of countries. History and profile The paper was launched in London on 1 June 1977, as a secular pan-Arab daily. A ...

'' journalist Hisham al-Nagar which did not appear in the English and Turkish versions. In the article, the Egyptian journalist tried to associate President Erdogan with Islamist terrorism.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahval Publications established in 2017 Turkish news websites