TRT World

TRT Global, previously named TRT World, is a Turkish public broadcaster which broadcasts in English 24 hours a day and is operated by the TRT and based in the Ulus quarter of Ankara. It provides worldwide news and current affairs focusing on Turkey, Europe, Africa, and Western and Southern Asia. In addition to its headquarters based in Ankara, TRT World has broadcasting centres and studios in Washington, D.C. and London. It is a member of the Association for International Broadcasting.

The network has been criticised for failing to meet accepted journalism ethics and standards for independence and objectivity, with some scholars and commentators, calling it state media or a propaganda arm of the Erdoğan administration. TRT World claims that it is financially and editorially independent from the administration, and that its news gathering is just like those of other publicly funded broadcasters around the world, with a mission to show a non-Turkish audience events from Turkey's viewpoint. According to Reporters Without Borders, Turkey in 2023 ranked 165th out of 180 countries in press freedom.

History

On May 1, 1964, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, government-run public broadcaster of Turkey, was founded. Since then, the organization would expand into a network of 14 television channels, 16 radio stations, and various web platforms transmitted in 38 languages throughout the world. One of those television channels was named TRT World, it was launched in 2015 with its headquarters being located in Istanbul and its newsrooms being reportedly located around the world. TRT has four newsrooms and approximately 300 international journalists. TRT World was designed to be available in all major English speaking countries, being accessed via free-to-air, cable, satellite, and other digital platforms, like mobile phones, desktops and social media. Reportedly, TRT had started its first test broadcasts on May 18, 2015, doing official broadcasts on October 27, 2015. A ceremony was held in Istanbul on May 18, where TRT celebrated the new channel, representatives from Turkey’s media organizations attended the event. In 2016 statement, president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced that TRT World “will not be the official bulletin of the state”.

TRT World airs its broadcasts 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Its broadcasting centers are located in London, Washington and Singapore. According to TRT World, its digital operations have reached to around 260 million households in 190 countries, with them being available in United States on cable services like Comcast, Cox and Verizon. TRT World has approximately 2.1 million followers, 8.6 million views and over 100,000 shares on Facebook, it also has account on YouTube. In 2016, Financial Times said that TRT World's budget is at $77 million to $155 million. Reportedly, TRT World targets audiences aged 25 to 40 and at the same time prepares to push for audience under 30 by uploading YouTube-like content which runs for 7 to 13 minutes. According to experts, TRT World had gradually shifted from being Turkey's international public news organization into the media wing of Justice and Development Party. After the 2016 Turkish coup attempt against Erdogan, the channel was forced to become partisan. Several foreign employees of TRT World resigned and some protested as a response.

On June 4, 2017, TRT World partnered with Interlat to distribute and transmit their broadcasts in the continents of America and Asia via Globecast. On November 5, 2018, TRT World opened new studios in Washington, D.C. for special coverage of the 2018 US Midterm elections. On November 9, 2017, TRT World partnered with Roku allowing it to globally connect to their broadcasts. On April 18, 2019, TRT World partnered with Itflix, making it available to be watched here 24/7 for free. On May 14, 2025, following 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, the X account of TRT World, along with several other news organizations, like Global Times and Xinhua News Agency, was temporarily region-banned by India for allegedly spreading misinformation. On May 8, prior to the bans, India issued executive orders to ban 8,000 X accounts from India, threatening to fine and imprison company's local employees if their demands are not met.

Press freedom and neutrality

In March 2020, the United States Justice Department required TRT World's Washington operation to register as an agent of the Government of Turkey, engaged in political activities, under the anti-propaganda Foreign Agents Registration Act. TRT World's argument that it is independent was rejected by US officials who found and claim that the Turkish government "exercises direction and control of TRT by regulation and oversight, and by controlling its leadership, budget, and content". Apart from some Russian and Chinese networks, other state-funded media including the Qatari-backed Al Jazeera, British-backed BBC News, French-backed France 24 and German-backed Deutsche Welle had not been determined to be foreign-government agents.

In a 2019 op-ed in ''The Washington Post'', MEMRI's executive director Steven Stalinsky described TRT World as "a propaganda arm of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime", similar to the Russian RT network. He notes that the channel offered only enthusiastically promotional coverage of the Turkish military's Operation Peace Spring in Syria, while according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the government banned critical news coverage domestically. Stalinsky urges human rights activists, journalists, and others not to appear on and legitimise the network's shows, just as they would not appear on RT.

Following the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, some journalists who had recently joined the company resigned. One of those who resigned said: "I no longer hold out any hope that this channel will become what I wanted it to become (...) After the coup, it became very apparent that the channel had no intention of actually covering it properly, in a professional, international broadcast standard". The managing editor at the time said that he "never received a phone call from Ankara trying to frame the broadcast or give them talking points".

More recently as of March 2020 with the Evros border crisis, TRT World and other Turkish media have in a way, accelerated on producing fake news as alleged by the Greek government, as was also mentioned by Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a CNN interview twice, stating that the reports all come from Turkish media and other unknown sources aiming to discredit the Hellenic Coast Guard and Hellenic Armed Forces efforts with propaganda videos. TRT World claimed that Greece sent back refugee vessels to Turkish waters, which was denied by Greece. Conversely, there have been reports by other sources of Greek coastal authorities forcing the refugee vessels back to Turkish side, in a military strategy dubbed "push back".

In May 2025, India briefly blocked the X (formerly Twitter) account of TRT World for spreading misinformation and propaganda related to India’s military operations against Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. The Indian government cited TRT World’s amplification of unverified and manipulated content, including pro-Pakistan narratives, distorted reporting on Kashmir, and dissemination of false claims about Indian military actions. This move was part of a broader crackdown on foreign media outlets accused of violating Indian IT rules and spreading disinformation amid heightened tensions, though TRT World’s website and other social media accounts remained accessible during the ban.

Programs

In addition to those listed below, TRT Global runs various once-off documentaries. Current programmes on the channel are:
* Africa Matters: Africa Matters, hosted by Adesewa Josh, is TRT World's flagship Africa programme that brings stories from the African continent.
* Across The Balkans: Weekly programme hosted by Nafisa Latic, prepared by Zeynep Gizem Ozdemir, featuring interviews with guests from Balkan Region regarding issues related to the region.
* Beyond Borders: Monthly documentary show presented by David Foster showcasing real people at the heart of the stories shaping our world.
* Beyond the game: Daily sports show.
* Money Talks: Daily finance programme hosted by Auskar Surbakti or Ludovica Brignola with in-depth reports and analysis.
* Roundtable: Hosted by Enda Brady. Roundtable is a discussion programme where guests debate the news from London.
* Showcase: Daily arts and culture show.
* The Newsmakers: Hosted by Andrea Sanke. The channel's flagship current affairs programme, featuring reports and interviews.
* Newsfeed: Daily show hosted by Natasha Hussain, unpacking what stories are big on social media and why they matter.
* Compass: Monthly documentary series filmed globally. Compass is an exploration of issues through art, culture and creativity.
* Inside America with Ghida Fakhry: Weekly in-depth interviews with American opinion and policy-makers exploring the issues shaping US politics, presented by Ghida Fakhry.
* Bigger Than Five: Current affairs program about global issues and international power politics hosted by Ghida Fakhry. Its name derived from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's saying " The world is bigger than five".
* Westminster Watch: Presenter Nick de Bois talks about all the interesting events which happened in Westminster.
* Decoded: A show which examines foreign relations of USA and its implications.
* The InnerView: A show hosted by Imran Garda that interviews various high-profile personalities.
* Strait Talk: Brings audience the much-needed context to stories that are changing the world. It features in depth analyses of global events that are redefining our age. This show is hosted by Ayse Suberker.

Notable staff

* Ghida Fakhry
* Maria Ramos
* Adnan Nawaz
* Imran Garda
* Andrea Sanke

Awards and nominations

In 2023 TRT World was awarded an international Emmy for its documentary on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In 2018 TRT World was nominated in five categories at the Drum Online Media Awards:

* Social Media Team of the year
* Technology Leader of the year
* Breaking News Story of the year
* App of the year
* Technical Innovation of the year

See also

* TRT Haber
* List of world news channels

References

Primary references

External links

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{{Television in Turkey

24-hour television news channels in Turkey
European Broadcasting Union members
International broadcasters
Mass media in Ankara
Multilingual news services
Publicly funded English language broadcasters
State media
Television channels and stations established in 2015
Television channels in North Macedonia
Turkish news websites
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation