{{Short description|Online news portal focused on Turkey}} {{Infobox website | name = Ahval | logo = Ahval logo.svg | logo_size = 130px | logocaption = | screenshot = | caption = | collapsible = | collapsetext = | type = Digital Media | language = English, Arabic, Turkish | owner = | author = | editor = Yavuz Baydar Ghassan Ibrahim | revenue = | url = {{URL|https://ahvalnews.com}} | alexa = | commercial = Yes | registration = | num_users = | launch_date = 2017 | current_status = | content_license = Copyright | footnotes = | programming language = | ip = }} '''Ahval''' is an Emirati-funded online news website that solely reports on Turkey. The site was launched in 2017.<ref name="Arab Weekly">{{cite news |title=Ahval, an independent news source on Turkey, makes debut |url=https://thearabweekly.com/ahval-independent-news-source-turkey-makes-debut |access-date=31 March 2020 |work=AW |date=11 May 2017 |language=en |archive-date=1 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101070334/https://thearabweekly.com/ahval-independent-news-source-turkey-makes-debut |url-status=live }}</ref> Turkish journalist Yavuz Baydar is the current editor-in-chief. The name ''Ahval'' means "events" and is a Turkish Arabism derivation from "ahwal".<ref name="qantara" />
In February 2018, Ahval was blocked by the Turkish government for users in Turkey.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Turkey bans access to critical Ahval news website|url=http://www.opemam.org/node/9602|website=Observatorio Electoral|language=es|access-date=2020-05-11|archive-date=2020-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518184233/http://www.opemam.org/node/9602|url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview with observatoireturquie.fr, Baydar stated that the site has 230,000 daily visitors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Le journal Ahval. Un phénomène du journalisme turc en ligne?|url=https://observatoireturquie.fr/index.php/2020/02/16/le-journal-ahval-un-phenomene-du-journalisme-turc-en-ligne/|date=2020-02-16|website=Observatoire de la Turquie Contemporaine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-11|archive-date=2020-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518184229/https://observatoireturquie.fr/index.php/2020/02/16/le-journal-ahval-un-phenomene-du-journalisme-turc-en-ligne/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Talking to German newspaper ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', Baydar said that the creation of Ahval aimed "to fill a gap caused by media bans and self-censorship in Turkey."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Türkische Journalisten - Die Lücke im Land|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/tuerkischer-journalismus-die-luecke-aus-medienverboten-und-selbstzensur-fuellen-1.3742705|last=Schlötzer|first=Christiane|website=Süddeutsche.de|language=de|access-date=2020-05-23|archive-date=2022-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912221348/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/tuerkischer-journalismus-die-luecke-aus-medienverboten-und-selbstzensur-fuellen-1.3742705|url-status=live}}</ref>
The (English language) pages do not show any new articles since early November 2022.
== Ownership == The website is owned by Ahval News Ltd, which is based in Cyprus.<ref>{{cite web |title=Search Results |url=https://efiling.drcor.mcit.gov.cy/DrcorPublic/SearchResults.aspx?name=%25&number=378123&searchtype=optStartMatch&index=1&lang=EN&tname=%25&sc=1 |website=Cyprus Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism |access-date=20 January 2020 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518190429/https://efiling.drcor.mcit.gov.cy/DrcorPublic/SearchResults.aspx?name=%&number=378123&searchtype=optStartMatch&index=1&lang=EN&tname=%&sc=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Qantara.de Ahval are financially supported by London media organisation "Al Arab", who are subsidized by the United Arab Emirates. Qantara criticised Ahval's Arabic language service for not being as neutral as its English language version.<ref name="qantara">{{cite news|last1=Croitoru|first1=Joseph|title=Hardly politically neutral|language=en|work=Qantara.de|url=https://en.qantara.de/content/turkish-exiles-news-portal-ahval-hardly-politically-neutral|access-date=20 January 2020|archive-date=13 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913123652/https://en.qantara.de/content/turkish-exiles-news-portal-ahval-hardly-politically-neutral|url-status=live}}</ref> Baydar responded to claims about Ahval's funding by an undemocratic regime by saying "whatever your financier, what matters is independence. When I worked in England, at the BBC World Service, it was never a problem for me to have this institution partially funded by the London government."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|title=Le journal Ahval. Un phénomène du journalisme turc en ligne?|url=https://observatoireturquie.fr/index.php/2020/02/16/le-journal-ahval-un-phenomene-du-journalisme-turc-en-ligne/|date=2020-02-16|website=Observatoire de la Turquie Contemporaine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-11|archive-date=2020-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518184229/https://observatoireturquie.fr/index.php/2020/02/16/le-journal-ahval-un-phenomene-du-journalisme-turc-en-ligne/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Turkish government claims that Ahval is used as a counter-propaganda tool against Turkey’s president.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Çandar |first1=Cengiz |title=Turkey-UAE rift may have unintended spillover |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/12/turkey-uae-conflit-may-spillover-into-gulf.html |access-date=20 January 2020 |work=Al-Monitor |date=22 December 2017 |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205171849/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/12/turkey-uae-conflit-may-spillover-into-gulf.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Criticism == === Alleged links to Gülen movement === Ahval has been accused by Turkey of having links to the Gülen movement, which Turkey sees as a terrorist organization and blames it for the failed coup attempt in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |title=Turkey summons US diplomat over a Twitter 'like' |url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/10/6/turkey-summons-us-diplomat-over-a-twitter-like |access-date=24 May 2020 |work=Al Araby |date=6 October 2019 |language=en |quote=... Ahval, a UAE-funded news site accused of links to Gulen.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=FETÖ haber sitesine Körfez'den sponsor bulundu |url=https://www.aydinlik.com.tr/feto-haber-sitesine-korfez-den-sponsor-bulundu-dunya-aralik-2017 |access-date=13 January 2020 |work=Aydinlik |date=12 December 2017 |language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ereli |first1=Gokhan |title=How the UAE’s Lobbying Instrument Works Abroad |url=https://thenewturkey.org/how-the-uaes-lobbying-instrument-works-abroad |access-date=22 May 2020 |work=The New Turkey |date=10 March 2020 |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Editor-in-chief Yavuz Baydar, who left Turkey following the coup attempt in 2016,<ref>{{cite web |title=Yavuz Baydar |url=https://www.journalismfestival.com/speaker/yavuz-baydar |website=Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo |access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref> had prosecution cases opened against him in Turkey in 2016 on charges of ties to the Gülen movement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bu adamların İşçi Partisi toplantısında ne işi var |url=https://odatv4.com/bu-adamlarin-isci-partisi-toplantisinda-ne-isi-var-26091820.html |access-date=24 May 2020 |work=OdaTV |date=26 September 2018 |language=TR |quote=FETÖ suçlamasıyla yakalama kararı bulunan sol karşıtı Yavuz Baydar da konuşmacı olarak yer aldı.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=29 January 2020|title=Dozens of journalists named as terrorists and spies in criminal probe in Turkey|work=Nordic Monitor|url=https://www.nordicmonitor.com/2020/01/dozens-of-journalists-named-as-terrorists-and-spies-in-a-criminal-probe-in-turkey/|access-date=24 May 2020|quote="Dozens of Turkey’s leading journalists and academics were the subject of criminal investigations on fabricated allegations of terrorism and accused of working on behalf of foreign governments"|archive-date=22 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422170840/https://www.nordicmonitor.com/2020/01/dozens-of-journalists-named-as-terrorists-and-spies-in-a-criminal-probe-in-turkey/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In October 2018, the 27th High Criminal Court in Istanbul reportedly wanted Ilhan Tanır to be charged along with Can Dündar.<ref>{{Cite web|last=TM|title=Turkish court requests Interpol Red Notice for journalists Dündar and Tanır - Turkish Minute|url=https://www.turkishminute.com/2018/10/16/turkish-court-requests-interpol-red-notice-for-journalists-dundar-and-tanir/|access-date=2020-08-31|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=SCF|date=2018-10-16|title=Turkish court requests red notices for journalists Can Dündar and İlhan Tanır|url=https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-court-issues-red-notice-for-journalists-can-dundar-and-ilhan-tanir/|access-date=2020-08-31|website=Stockholm Center for Freedom|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028223734/https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-court-issues-red-notice-for-journalists-can-dundar-and-ilhan-tanir/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wed|first=Oct 24th 2018 1:48pm-Tim Cushing|title=Interpol Alert Issued By Turkey For Exiled Journalists President Erdogan Wants To Toss In Jail|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181022/11271340888/interpol-alert-issued-turkey-exiled-journalists-president-erdogan-wants-to-toss-jail.shtml|access-date=2020-08-31|website=Techdirt.|archive-date=2020-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034615/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181022/11271340888/interpol-alert-issued-turkey-exiled-journalists-president-erdogan-wants-to-toss-jail.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Tanir, formerly head of Ahval's English desk, and ''Cumhuriyet''{{'}}s Washington correspondent at the time, denies these links.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tanir |first1=Ilhan |title=The false claims, allegations and gossip that make up Turkey’s evidence against me |url=https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-interpol/false-claims-allegations-and-gossip-make-turkeys-evidence-against-me-red-notice-iii |access-date=22 May 2020 |work=Ahval |date=24 November 2018 |language=en |archive-date=20 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020132528/https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-interpol/false-claims-allegations-and-gossip-make-turkeys-evidence-against-me-red-notice-iii |url-status=live }}</ref> Editor Ergun Babahan is also accused of being a follower of Fethullah Gülen.<ref name="AlAraby">{{cite news |title=Turkey summons US diplomat over a Twitter 'like' |url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/10/6/turkey-summons-us-diplomat-over-a-twitter-like |access-date=24 May 2020 |work=alaraby |date=6 October 2019 |language=en |archive-date=22 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022153518/https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/10/6/turkey-summons-us-diplomat-over-a-twitter-like |url-status=live }}</ref>
Yavuz Baydar denies that the site has any affiliation with Gülen.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|title=Le journal Ahval. Un phénomène du journalisme turc en ligne?|url=https://observatoireturquie.fr/index.php/2020/02/16/le-journal-ahval-un-phenomene-du-journalisme-turc-en-ligne/|date=2020-02-16|website=Observatoire de la Turquie Contemporaine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-11|archive-date=2020-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518184229/https://observatoireturquie.fr/index.php/2020/02/16/le-journal-ahval-un-phenomene-du-journalisme-turc-en-ligne/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He states that "We are not the mouthpiece of any interest group nor are we part of any activist movement."<ref name="Arab Weekly"/> Ahval has published critical commentary on Gülen's movement by authors like Nick Ashdown and Gökhan Bacık. Bacık had left the Gülen movement and "started writing critical and highly informative pieces on both the Gülen movement and Islamic conservatism."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The freedom of the press|url=https://thevoid.blog/2018/11/05/the-freedom-of-the-press/|last=thevoid13|date=2018-11-05|website=The Void|language=en|access-date=2020-05-11|archive-date=2020-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518184252/https://thevoid.blog/2018/11/05/the-freedom-of-the-press/|url-status=live}}</ref> Turkish journalist Cengiz Candar, writing for al-Monitor, noted that "Police raids of residences have targeted many linked to the failed coup. But to associate Baydar with the coup is impossible."<ref>{{Cite web|title=What's next for Turkey's journalists following post-coup crackdown?|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/turkey-freedom-of-press-hemingways-bar.html|last=Çandar|first=Cengiz|date=2016-09-01|publisher=Al-Monitor|language=en|access-date=2020-05-11|archive-date=2017-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519194159/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/turkey-freedom-of-press-hemingways-bar.html|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
=== Bias in Arabic version === The Arabic version of Ahval is criticized for not demonstrating political neutrality on topics regarded as sensitive subjects by the regimes in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates such as the Muslim Brotherhood. An example is a piece by ''Al-Arab'' journalist Hisham al-Nagar which did not appear in the English and Turkish versions. In the article, the Egyptian journalist tried to associate President Erdogan with Islamist terrorism.<ref name="qantara" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://ahvalnews.com/ Official website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahval}} Category:Publications established in 2017 Category:Turkish news websites