How Turkish CNN 'insulted' Erdo?an and got sued

There are plenty of TV news channels in Turkey, but among them, CNN Türk stands out. For most of the "news channels" are actually propaganda outlets - the overwhelming majority of them for the government, just a few of them against the government. CNN Türk, however, tries to be non-partisan and objective. In its political talk shows, you can hear people who actually have different views, unlike most other shows who only bring likeminded people together so that they can all happily agree on a single political narrative. 

Yet trying to be non-partisan and objective does not save CNN Türk from trouble. Since the government (or, more precisely, "the regime") has a clear line of you-are-either-with-us-or-against-us, it can easily perceive non-partisan and objective news as hostile news. And that perception can have serious consequences. 

To explain what I exactly mean, let me tell you about the latest incident. As the Hürriyet Daily News reported yesterday, an Istanbul court, the Bak?rköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, just launched an "investigation" into CNN Türk's editor and the producer of its morning news program. The suspected crime is something serious: "Insulting the President." Yet the way this "insult" was carried out, in my view, is a bit hilarious: Using the word "dictator" for President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an on a news ticker which appeared on screen for a few dozen seconds.

If I were an adviser to Turkey's president, I would urge him to immediately do something to have this "investigation" dropped. Why? Because it really is not a great idea to ban people from calling you a "dictator." It is nothing but self-defeating.

Why? Well, if you are NOT a dictator, then people should be able to call you a "dictator" without any...