Social media platform X has blocked access to KaosGL.org, the news outlet of one of the country’s oldest LGBTQ+ rights organizations, based on a request from the Turkish government shortly after dozens were detained at İstanbul’s Trans Pride March, the Bianet news website reported on Tuesday.
KaosGL.org, which operates under the umbrella of Kaos GL, has been publishing LGBTQ+ news content in Turkey for over three decades. Its X account often covers rights violations, policy developments and community events, including Pride marches and legal proceedings involving LGBTQ+ individuals.
According to Bianet, the platform confirmed that its verified X account, followed by more than 47,000 users, was removed from public view in Turkey on June 23. The US-based social media company said the restriction was enforced following a legal request, though KaosGL.org’s editorial team said they were not notified through official channels.
Yıldız Tar, the editor-in-chief of KaosGL.org, described the move as “a severe blow to both freedom of expression and press freedom” in comments to Bianet. Tar said the ban was an “arbitrary action,” part of a broader effort by the Turkish government to censor the media and erase LGBTQ+ existence from the public sphere.
Tar suggested that the timing of the account’s restriction was not coincidental, adding that it was an attempt to silence LGBTQ+ voices during Pride Month, celebrated every June in Turkey and worldwide, when LGBTQ+ individuals organize marches, protests and various activities to demand expanded rights and an end to discrimination.
The block came just one day after at least 46 people were detained during the 11th Trans Pride March in İstanbul, an event that was not authorized by authorities. The detentions sparked criticism from rights organizations, including Amnesty Turkey, which called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of those detained. The activists were released from detention later on Monday.
Tar also noted that this latest action fits into a broader pattern of online censorship targeting LGBTQ+ and feminist groups in Turkey, recalling that KaosGL.org was blocked last year by the Information and Communications Technologies Authority (BTK) for users subjected to the “safe internet” filter.
The editor-in-chief said that despite these restrictions violating freedom of the press and expression, the organization remains determined to continue its publishing activities undeterred by the obstacles they face.
Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, but homophobia is widespread. It is common for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other politicians from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to attack LGBTQ+ individuals and accuse them of perversion and ruining family values.
Turkey was ranked 47th among 49 countries as regards the human rights of LGBTQ+ people in the 2025 edition of the Rainbow Index released in May by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), which placed Turkey among the bottom five countries for LGBTQ+ rights in Europe.
Erdoğan’s government is also regularly accused of muzzling freedom of expression, with Turkey, where internet freedom has steadily declined over the past decade, ranking among the “not free” countries concerning online freedoms, according to a report released in October by the US-based Freedom House.
The blocking of the Kaos GL account on X follows a broader pattern of platform compliance with Ankara’s escalating crackdown on dissent.
In recent months X has complied with Turkish court orders to block access to hundreds of accounts, including those of journalists, activists and media organizations.