Erdogan Escalates Culture War, Accusing Digital Platforms of ‘Dynamiting’ the Family Institution

ISTANBUL – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has intensified his long-running culture war against digital media, using a high-profile speech at the TRT World Forum 2025 to accuse global platforms of promoting “perverse trends” and seeking to undermine the traditional Turkish family structure.

The President’s remarks represent the latest escalation in his government’s fixation on enforcing conservative social norms, a policy stance that has previously manifested in demographic advice to citizens and state probes into public figures.

Mabel Matiz Faces Obscenity Charges as Turkey Tightens Cultural Clampdown

During the opening address, Erdoğan directed sharp criticism at digital and social media outlets, arguing they legitimize “every kind of immorality” under the guise of freedom.

“Perverse trends and partnerships that defy human nature are being encouraged through digital platforms,” Erdoğan stated. “Social media channels fuel this process of degradation… The institution of the family is being dynamited.”

The Three-Child Mantra and State Scrutiny

This strong rhetoric is consistent with Erdoğan’s established commitment to social conservatism. For years, the President has publicly advocated for Turkish couples to have at least three children, framing population growth and the traditional nuclear family as vital to the nation’s strength and continuity. His focus on “human nature” directly challenges the visibility of LGBTQ+ identities and modern relationships often portrayed in global digital content.

This latest attack on digital culture also follows recent instances where the government has taken concrete action against popular figures deemed to challenge these values. Most notably, state prosecutors launched an official probe into prominent Turkish pop singer Mabel Matiz over a music video and its lyrics, with critics accusing the state of targeting the artist for perceived LGBTQ+ support. The official scrutiny of Matiz demonstrates how the President’s rhetorical warnings quickly translate into action by regulatory bodies.

Praise for TRT and Media Critique

While targeting digital giants, Erdoğan simultaneously praised the state broadcaster, TRT, calling it a “source of pride” for centering its journalism on humanity and projecting “the voice of truth” globally.

He also used the platform to lash out at Western media coverage of international affairs, particularly the conflict in Gaza, where he claimed international press organizations—including those that “set up camp in Istanbul” during the 2013 Gezi protests—failed to hold perpetrators accountable and used language that concealed the facts of the genocide.

However, the dominant message of the address was the deepening culture struggle, signaling that the crackdown on what the administration deems “moral decay” streaming from digital platforms is set to continue as a key policy area.