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WHY DO THE AKP MEDIA ALWAYS LIE?
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
May 12 2014
TR_ISTA - 12.05.2014 16:10:09
Since a serious graft scandal got underway on Dec. 17, the pro-Justice
and Development Party (AKP) media have been publishing endless lies
on a daily basis.
These days, the pro-AKP media are well known for their contradictions.
Their only desire is to run headline stories -- whether fabricated
or genuine, it doesn't make any difference -- about the Gulen movement.
In order to do that, they don't hesitate to reach out to their former
foes and run their allegations as headline stories.
The question of what motivates pro-AKP media outlets to constantly
attack the Gulen movement is easy to answer. Their primary motivation
is money and power. If it weren't for the power and money they're
getting from the AKP government, they would not be running such a
campaign. They would even turn against the AKP government if they
saw they weren't getting enough support from them. Yeni Safak, for
instance, has published reporting critical of the government when
their expectations came into conflict with the administration. Once
the paper achieves its "aim," it shuts up and goes back to supporting
the government.
All in all, everyone agrees that the pro-AKP media outlets cannot
be considered "media outlets" in a traditional sense; rather, they
should be considered propaganda rags.
Given the fact that pro-AKP media outlets have voluntarily converted
themselves into propaganda rags for obvious reasons -- money and
power -- it becomes clear that they publish their stories to spread
the word of their supreme leader and support the AKP government.
One question, however, remains unanswered: Why do they constantly lie?
Here are a few points that explain why they constantly lie.
First, despite the fact that the state bureaucracy is in the hands of
the AKP government, they cannot find any tangible evidence against
the Gulen movement to publish. I am sure the number one priority
handed down to the bureaucracy is to find evidence to demonize the
Gulen movement. Yet they fail to find evidence against the movement
because the movement plays by the rules. As they cannot find genuine
evidence, the propaganda rags of the AKP government have no choice
left but to lie.
Second, the smear campaign against the Gulen movement is a form of
psychological warfare. Such psychological warfare is run by the state
security apparatus. Psychological warfare campaigns usually have two
aims: maintaining public support and making the opposition desperate.
It is a fact that psychological warfare campaigns have always been
dirty in Turkey. Back in 1990, similar psychological warfare campaigns
were waged against Kurds who supported the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK). One of the lies that was circulated at that time was that
the PKK was an Armenian organization and had nothing to do with the
Muslim Kurds.
Of course, all Kurds were aware of the fact that the PKK is a Kurdish
organization. The aim of the psychological warfare campaign was not
to convince the Kurds, however, but to maintain support among Turks.
A similar logic is at work in the new psychological warfare campaign
of the AKP government. Of course all the Gulen supporters and the
public at large know the facts about the Gulen movement. The aim of
the campaign is not to convert Gulen supporters into AKP supporters,
but to keep the AKP base intact.
Third, the propaganda rags of the AKP have to lie constantly because
once they stop publishing stories about the Gulen movement, they'll
have to face the deadly reality: the corruption, authoritarianism
and failures of the government.
Moreover, there is not much time left before the presidential
election. Thus their priority is to dominate public debate, whether
with lies or not, and prevent people from discussing corruption and
the future of Turkey.
Once they stop producing lies about the Gulen movement they'll have to
face the truth, which would hurt them badly in terms of the money that
they earn and the power that they hold over their competitors. In order
to avoid this reality, they have to lie. (Emre Uslu/Today's Zaman)
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Why-do-the-AKP-media-always-lie-_1015-CHMTQzMTAxNS81
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
May 12 2014
TR_ISTA - 12.05.2014 16:10:09
Since a serious graft scandal got underway on Dec. 17, the pro-Justice
and Development Party (AKP) media have been publishing endless lies
on a daily basis.
These days, the pro-AKP media are well known for their contradictions.
Their only desire is to run headline stories -- whether fabricated
or genuine, it doesn't make any difference -- about the Gulen movement.
In order to do that, they don't hesitate to reach out to their former
foes and run their allegations as headline stories.
The question of what motivates pro-AKP media outlets to constantly
attack the Gulen movement is easy to answer. Their primary motivation
is money and power. If it weren't for the power and money they're
getting from the AKP government, they would not be running such a
campaign. They would even turn against the AKP government if they
saw they weren't getting enough support from them. Yeni Safak, for
instance, has published reporting critical of the government when
their expectations came into conflict with the administration. Once
the paper achieves its "aim," it shuts up and goes back to supporting
the government.
All in all, everyone agrees that the pro-AKP media outlets cannot
be considered "media outlets" in a traditional sense; rather, they
should be considered propaganda rags.
Given the fact that pro-AKP media outlets have voluntarily converted
themselves into propaganda rags for obvious reasons -- money and
power -- it becomes clear that they publish their stories to spread
the word of their supreme leader and support the AKP government.
One question, however, remains unanswered: Why do they constantly lie?
Here are a few points that explain why they constantly lie.
First, despite the fact that the state bureaucracy is in the hands of
the AKP government, they cannot find any tangible evidence against
the Gulen movement to publish. I am sure the number one priority
handed down to the bureaucracy is to find evidence to demonize the
Gulen movement. Yet they fail to find evidence against the movement
because the movement plays by the rules. As they cannot find genuine
evidence, the propaganda rags of the AKP government have no choice
left but to lie.
Second, the smear campaign against the Gulen movement is a form of
psychological warfare. Such psychological warfare is run by the state
security apparatus. Psychological warfare campaigns usually have two
aims: maintaining public support and making the opposition desperate.
It is a fact that psychological warfare campaigns have always been
dirty in Turkey. Back in 1990, similar psychological warfare campaigns
were waged against Kurds who supported the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK). One of the lies that was circulated at that time was that
the PKK was an Armenian organization and had nothing to do with the
Muslim Kurds.
Of course, all Kurds were aware of the fact that the PKK is a Kurdish
organization. The aim of the psychological warfare campaign was not
to convince the Kurds, however, but to maintain support among Turks.
A similar logic is at work in the new psychological warfare campaign
of the AKP government. Of course all the Gulen supporters and the
public at large know the facts about the Gulen movement. The aim of
the campaign is not to convert Gulen supporters into AKP supporters,
but to keep the AKP base intact.
Third, the propaganda rags of the AKP have to lie constantly because
once they stop publishing stories about the Gulen movement, they'll
have to face the deadly reality: the corruption, authoritarianism
and failures of the government.
Moreover, there is not much time left before the presidential
election. Thus their priority is to dominate public debate, whether
with lies or not, and prevent people from discussing corruption and
the future of Turkey.
Once they stop producing lies about the Gulen movement they'll have to
face the truth, which would hurt them badly in terms of the money that
they earn and the power that they hold over their competitors. In order
to avoid this reality, they have to lie. (Emre Uslu/Today's Zaman)
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Why-do-the-AKP-media-always-lie-_1015-CHMTQzMTAxNS81