Ceylan Yeğinsu

Yeğinsu began her journalism career in 2008 as a reporter and editor for Hurriyet Daily News, where she covered politics, culture, business and sport. She also ran a weekly column on issues of gender equality in Turkey. In 2011, she received a master's degree in Digital Media at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and was awarded the Brigid O'Hara-Forster Fellowship. As a freelance reporter and multimedia journalist in New York and Istanbul, she worked for publications including The Atlantic, The Economist, Huffington Post, International Business Times.[1]

In 2013, Yeğinsu joined the New York Times' Istanbul Bureau.[1] In September 2014, she ran a front-page story on ISIL's recruitment of Turks in the Hacıbayram neighborhood of Ankara.[2] Her report was heavily criticized by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who called the story "shameless, ignoble, treason."[3] Yeğinsu was subsequently attacked by the newspaper Star and other pro-government media,[4] and received multiple death threats. The article contained multiple dubious and unsupported claims, including unverifiable references to children acting violently, uttering death threats, and supporting the beheading of journalists; as well as figures placing the number of ISIS recruits from Hacıbayram at "up to 100."[2] The resulting intimidation campaign against Yeğinsu forced her to temporarily leave the country.[5] The directors of Reporters Without Borders, Article 19 and the English PEN to publish an open letter, reminding President Erdoğan of journalists significant role in a democracy and their protection in both Turkish and international law.[3] The U.S. State Department criticized Turkey for these attempts of intimidation and threat.[6]

During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Yeğinsu's reporting and social media posts repeatedly promoted the Islamophobic narrative that Palestinian protesters were endangering the security of Europe.[7]