Türkiye suspends 120+ LGBTQI+ and feminist social media accounts amid escalating crackdown
📅 Date: June–July 2026
📍 Region: Türkiye
📱 Platforms: Major social media platforms
🔗 Cases: 120+ LGBTQI+ and feminist accounts suspended or restricted
Beginning on 19 June 2026, more than 120 LGBTQI+ and feminist social media accounts across Türkiye were suspended or restricted amid an escalating crackdown on LGBTQI+ communities and civil society.
Repro Uncensored, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), ÜniKuir Association and Kaos GL raised the alarm over the scale and timing of the suspensions, which coincided with Pride Month and broader restrictions on freedom of expression and public assembly across the country.
Since 2015, Turkish authorities have systematically banned and restricted Pride marches. In 2026, account suspensions occurred alongside the suppression of Pride events, police violence, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on public assembly, raising serious concerns about the relationship between offline repression and the silencing of communities online.
The affected accounts play an essential role in enabling LGBTQI+ and feminist organizations to communicate with communities, provide legal and health information, document abuses, organize and coordinate advocacy, and share urgent safety information. For LGBTQI+ students and young people in particular, these platforms can provide critical access to information, support and solidarity.
When these channels are removed at moments of political repression and civic mobilization, the consequences extend far beyond social media. Restricting access to lawful information can undermine civil society organizations’ ability to exercise freedom of expression and association, while also preventing communities from accessing essential services and resources.
The Türkiye cases are part of a much broader global pattern. Repro Uncensored has documented more than 600 cases of platform censorship in 2026, increasingly affecting organizations and communities working on LGBTQI+ rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, public health, and democratic participation.
The events in Türkiye demonstrate how digital censorship and offline repression can increasingly reinforce one another. Silencing civil society online while communities face repression in public spaces risks accelerating democratic erosion and further concentrating power over who can speak, organize, access information, and participate in public life.
These mass suspensions demand urgent investigation, meaningful transparency around enforcement decisions, the restoration of accounts that have been wrongfully removed, and accessible and effective mechanisms for appeal and redress.
Take Action
➡️ Demand an investigation: Call on social media platforms to urgently investigate the suspension of LGBTQI+ and feminist accounts in Türkiye.
➡️ Demand transparency and redress: Platforms must provide meaningful explanations for enforcement decisions and accessible, effective mechanisms for appeal.
➡️ Stand with affected communities: Share these cases and read our press release with IPPF to support LGBTQI+ and feminist organizations defending freedom of expression, access to information, and democratic participation in Türkiye.
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