Turkish Newspapers: How They Use ‘Brexit’ for Domestic Political Gain

Abstract

The EU is the pinnacle of modernity to some Turks, whilst something to be loathed by others. Although Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government pays lip service to joining the EU, very little progress has been achieved during its time in office. News of Britain’s EU referendum received mixed reactions in the Turkish press, depending on where the newspaper falls in Turkey’s deeply polarised political landscape. Throughout the Turkish press, coverage of foreign news is either ‘news stories’ sourced from Western news agencies or opinion pieces where more ‘home grown’ views of events are expressed. This chapter examines how a mainstream ‘oppositional’ online newspaper represented the EU referendum in opinion pieces. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the chapter explores how stories of the referendum are used by the newspaper to express criticism about the government’s domestic and international affairs. I reveal how these criticisms are ideologically driven to the advantage of those associated with the newspaper, but do little in terms of informing the public of the foreign events that directly affect them.