Unregulated social media threatens democracy and national security, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.
“Social media with no inspection now threatens democracy, social peace, and the national security of states,” Erdogan said during a recorded message played at the Turkish Council Media Forum held in Istanbul.
“Just as we do not entirely rely on foreigners in the defense industry, we cannot leave communication to others,” he added.
Erdogan expressed hope for the three-day media forum, hosted by Turkey's Directorate of Communications, to be instrumental in strengthening the solidarity among countries.
He stated that millions of "defenseless" people around the world are depressed due to false and distorted news, suffering serious trauma.
"Like other strategic issues, we have to take matters regarding media and communication into our own hands," Erdogan said.
Cooperation opportunities in media, TV series and film sectors in the Turkic world as well as social media and the joint struggle against disinformation are among the topics that will be discussed during the forum.
The Turkic Council was established in 2009 as an intergovernmental organization with the overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking states. It consists of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan as member countries and Hungary as an observer state.
