08/12/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı targeted LGBTI+ people at the International Children’s Media Summit: “Artificial identities and genders are being manufactured under the umbrella of freedom.”
The TRT International Children’s Media Summit, titled “Children’s Media in the Digital Age: Strengthening the Family, Building Values,” was held on 6 December at the Haliç Congress Center.
At the event where Emine Erdoğan, wife of President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, targeted LGBTI+ people, TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı also joined in the attacks.
Sobacı said it was meaningful to hold the TRT International Children’s Media Summit during the “Year of the Family”:
“Because we know that a child’s world is shaped by the values in which they grow up, and these values can take root only in a safe family environment. That is why children’s media should rely on values and be strengthened by the family.”
Using the phrase “LGBT deviance,” Sobacı continued his hate filled remarks:
“Through digital media, an imposition that disregards children’s nature, blurs their identities, promotes LGBT deviance, and weakens the family has become hegemonic on a global scale. Under the so called umbrella of ‘freedom,’ artificial identities and genders are being manufactured. Protecting our children from this global wave and building children’s media on the axis of the family and on the foundation of values is no longer a choice but an obligation.”
Sobacı has previously targeted LGBTI+ people as well
Sobacı had also targeted LGBTI+ people in October at the launch of the tabii platform, using the following remarks:
“With Tabii, we confront the increasingly shallow structures of the global content industry by presenting content that respects our values, avoids violence, obscenity, and corruption, centers the family, and tells our own story in a strong way. In this context, the declaration of 2025 as the 'Year of the Family' in our country gives a special significance to our approach. As President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has emphasized, it is our shared responsibility to protect our children and youth from harmful trends, and our family and societal structure from perverted ideologies. As Turkey’s public broadcaster, we act with the awareness of this responsibility. For this reason, we work with all our strength to promote family-friendly content across both our traditional and digital platforms. We note our objection to perversions that try to destroy our family and society. Our international digital platform Tabii is a valuable reflection of this effort.”
Tags: human rights, media, life, family, lgbti
