{{Short description|Turkish public radio and TV broadcaster}} {{Update|date=April 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Use British English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox television channel | name = TRT World | logo = TRT_World.svg | logo_size = 250px | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = | launch_date = 18 May 2015<br />(test broadcast)<br />{{start date and age|2015|06|30|df=y}} | closed_date = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} --> | network = | owner = TRT | picture_format = {{ubl|16:9 1080i (HDTV)}} | country = Turkey | language = English | area = Worldwide | affiliates = | headquarters = Çankaya, Ankara<!-- DO NOT LINK, see MOS:GEOLINK for further guidance -->, Turkey<!-- DO NOT LINK, see MOS:GEOLINK for further guidance --> | former_names = | replaced = TRT International | replaced_by = | sister_channels = {{Plainlist| * TRT 1 * TRT 2 * TRT 3 * TRT 4 * TRT Haber * TRT Çocuk * TRT Türk * TRT Arabi * TRT Kurdî }} | timeshift_service = | website = {{Official URL}} | online_serv_1 = trtworld.com | online_chan_1 = [https://www.trtworld.com/live-stream Watch live] }}
'''TRT World''' is a Turkish public broadcaster which broadcasts in English 24 hours a day and is operated by the TRT and based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul<!-- DO NOT LINK, see MOS:GEOLINK for further guidance -->. It provides worldwide news and current affairs focusing on Turkey, Europe, Africa, and Western and Southern Asia.<ref name="Sigismondi2019">{{cite book|first=Paolo|last=Sigismondi|title=World Entertainment Media: Global, Regional and Local Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OI6lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT256|date=25 July 2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-60370-6|pages=256–}}</ref> In addition to its headquarters based in Ankara, TRT World has broadcasting centres and studios in Washington, D.C. and London. It is a member of the Association for International Broadcasting.
TRT World states that it is financially and editorially independent from the administration of Turkey, and that its news gathering is just like those of other publicly funded broadcasters around the world, with a mission to show a non-Turkish audience events from Turkey's viewpoint.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last1=Srivastava |first1=Mehul |last2=Mance |first2=Henry |date=11 March 2016 |title=Turkish TV station aims to switch western views |url=https://www.ft.com/content/cd5d7f46-e77c-11e5-a09b-1f8b0d268c39 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230327145022/https://www.ft.com/content/cd5d7f46-e77c-11e5-a09b-1f8b0d268c39 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |access-date=27 January 2018 |website=Financial Times |quote="There has [for many years] been a need for a broadcast channel delivering the events to the world from a different perspective, which presents Turkey’s own viewpoint," says Ibrahim Eren, head of broadcasting for TRT. [...] In 2015 Reporters without Borders(opens a new window) ranked Turkey 149th in the world for press freedom, behind South Sudan and Palestine.}}</ref>
== Programmes ==
In addition to those listed below, TRT World runs various once-off documentaries. Current programmes on the channel are: * '''Africa Matters''': Africa Matters, hosted by Adesewa Josh, is TRT World's flagship Africa programme that brings stories from the African continent. * '''Across The Balkans''': Weekly programme hosted by Nafisa Latic, prepared by Zeynep Gizem Ozdemir, featuring interviews with guests from Balkan Region regarding issues related to the region. * '''Beyond Borders''': Monthly documentary show presented by David Foster showcasing real people at the heart of the stories shaping our world. * '''Beyond the game''': Daily sports show. * '''Money Talks''': Daily finance programme hosted by Auskar Surbakti or Ludovica Brignola with in-depth reports and analysis. * '''Roundtable''': Hosted by Enda Brady. Roundtable is a discussion programme where guests debate the news from London. * '''Showcase''': Weekly arts and culture show.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2016/06/06/in-trt-worlds-showcase-arts-coverage-goes-global|title=In TRT World's 'Showcase,' arts coverage goes global|work=DailySabah|access-date=21 July 2017|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129171657/https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2016/06/06/in-trt-worlds-showcase-arts-coverage-goes-global|url-status=live}}</ref> * '''The Newsmakers''': Hosted by Andrea Sanke. The channel's flagship current affairs programme, featuring reports and interviews. * '''Newsfeed:''' Daily show hosted by Lara Kilicarslan, unpacking what stories are big on social media and why they matter. * '''Compass''': Monthly documentary series filmed globally. Compass is an exploration of issues through art, culture and creativity. * '''Inside America with Ghida Fakhry''': Weekly in-depth interviews with American opinion and policy-makers exploring the issues shaping US politics, presented by Ghida Fakhry.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Inside America – TRT World|url=https://www.trtworld.com/video/inside-america|access-date=1 February 2021|website=Inside America – TRT World|language=en|archive-date=9 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609014244/https://www.trtworld.com/video/inside-america|url-status=live}}</ref> * '''Bigger Than Five''': Current affairs program about global issues and international power politics hosted by Ghida Fakhry.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bigger than Five – TRT World|url=https://www.trtworld.com/video/bigger-than-five|access-date=1 February 2021|website=Bigger than Five – TRT World|language=en|archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128154228/https://www.trtworld.com/video/bigger-than-five|url-status=live}}</ref> Its name derived from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's saying "The world is bigger than five". * '''Westminster Watch''' * '''Decoded''' * '''The InnerView''' hosted by Imran Garda. * '''Strait Talk''': Brings audience the much-needed context to stories that are changing the world. It features in-depth analyses of global events. This show is hosted by Ayse Suberker.
== Press freedom and neutrality ==
In March 2020, the United States Justice Department required TRT World's Washington operation to register as an agent of the Government of Turkey, engaged in political activities, under the anti-propaganda Foreign Agents Registration Act. TRT World's argument that it is independent was rejected by US officials who said that the Turkish government "exercises direction and control of TRT by regulation and oversight, and by controlling its leadership, budget, and content."<ref name="Schaffer 2020-03-19">{{cite web|first1=Aaron|last1=Schaffer|access-date=10 May 2020|title=Justice Department ordered Turkish TV station to register as foreign agent|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/03/justice-department-ordered-trt-world-turkey-register-fara.html|date=19 March 2020|website=Al-Monitor|archive-date=22 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322234152/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/03/justice-department-ordered-trt-world-turkey-register-fara.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Apart from some Russian and Chinese networks, other state-funded media including the Qatari-backed Al Jazeera, British-backed BBC News, French-backed France 24 and German-backed Deutsche Welle had not been determined to be foreign-government agents.<ref name="Schaffer 2020-03-18">{{cite web|first1=Aaron|last1=Schaffer|access-date=10 May 2020|title=Turkey's public broadcaster registers as foreign agent|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/03/turkish-broadcaster-trt-registers-foreign-agent-lobbying.html|date=18 March 2020|website=Al-Monitor|archive-date=22 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322105716/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/03/turkish-broadcaster-trt-registers-foreign-agent-lobbying.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In a 2019 op-ed in ''The Washington Post'', MEMRI's executive director Steven Stalinsky described TRT World as "a propaganda arm of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime", similar to the Russian RT network. He notes that the channel offered only enthusiastically promotional coverage of the Turkish military's Operation Peace Spring in Syria, while according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the government banned critical news coverage domestically. Stalinsky urges human rights activists, journalists, and others not to appear on and legitimise the network's shows, just as they would not appear on RT.<ref name="Stalinksy 2020">{{cite news |last1=Stalinsky |first1=Steven |date=12 November 2019 |title=Opinion – This Turkish TV network is Erdogan's propaganda arm.fsefgg U.S. experts should stop appearing on it. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/12/how-us-can-send-message-erdogan-free-press/ |access-date=10 May 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520045811/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/12/how-us-can-send-message-erdogan-free-press/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Following the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, some journalists who had recently joined the company resigned.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/2016/11/21/trt-world-ceo-ibrahim-eren-we-will-tell-the-truth-even-if-it-is-inconvenient-or-disturbing |title=TRT World Ceo İbrahim Eren: We will tell the truth, even if it is inconvenient or disturbing |last=Ünal |first=Ali |date=21 November 2016 |work=Daily Sabah |access-date=17 May 2017 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408230716/https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/2016/11/21/trt-world-ceo-ibrahim-eren-we-will-tell-the-truth-even-if-it-is-inconvenient-or-disturbing |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/02/turkey-journalists-detained-military-coup-492416.html|title=Turkish journalists seek refuge abroad post-coup|last=Scott|first=Alev|date=22 August 2016|website=Newsweek|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415203110/https://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/02/turkey-journalists-detained-military-coup-492416.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One of those who resigned said: "I no longer hold out any hope that this channel will become what I wanted it to become (...) After the coup, it became very apparent that the channel had no intention of actually covering it properly, in a professional, international broadcast standard."<ref name=":1" /> The managing editor at the time said that he "never received a phone call from Ankara trying to frame the broadcast or give them talking points."<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Nissenbaum |first=Dion |date=12 August 2016 |title=After Turkey's Failed Coup, a State-Owned TV Station Tilts |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-turkeys-failed-coup-a-state-owned-tv-station-tilts-1471019093 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231217095509/https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-turkeys-failed-coup-a-state-owned-tv-station-tilts-1471019093 |archive-date=17 Dec 2023 |access-date=17 May 2017 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>
More recently as of March 2020 with the Evros border crisis, TRT World and other Turkish media have in a way, accelerated on producing fake news as alleged by the Greek government, as was also mentioned by Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a CNN interview twice,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2020/08/20/kyriakos-mitsotakis-prime-minister-of-greece-migrants-turkey-tensions-aman.cnn|title=Greek PM to Turkey: 'Stop the provocations, let's start talking' | CNN|date=20 August 2020|via=CNN|access-date=28 January 2023|archive-date=28 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128215335/https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2020/08/20/kyriakos-mitsotakis-prime-minister-of-greece-migrants-turkey-tensions-aman.cnn|url-status=live}}</ref> stating that the reports all come from Turkish media and other unknown sources aiming to discredit the Hellenic Coast Guard and Hellenic Armed Forces efforts with propaganda videos. TRT World said that Greece sent back refugee vessels to Turkish waters, which was denied by Greece.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/europe/europe-migrants-coronavirus-intl/index.html|title=Europe's migrant crisis is worsening during the pandemic. The reaction has been brutal|first=Emma|last=Reynolds|date=28 August 2020|website=CNN|access-date=28 January 2023|archive-date=28 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128215309/https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/europe/europe-migrants-coronavirus-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Conversely, there have been reports by other sources of Greek coastal authorities forcing the refugee vessels back to Turkish side, in a military strategy dubbed "push back".<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Deshmukh|first1=Vishwajeet|last2=Malhotra|first2=Lubna|date=24 November 2020|editor-last=Mahajan|editor-first=Khushali|title=Migration, Push-Backs and Europe: A Blind Eye to a Refugee Crisis|url=https://jurist.org/commentary/2020/11/vishwajeet-deshmukh-lubna-malhotra-refugees-europe-push-back/|magazine=Jurist|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|access-date=5 March 2021|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202035314/https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/11/vishwajeet-deshmukh-lubna-malhotra-refugees-europe-push-back/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In May 2025, India briefly blocked the X (formerly Twitter) account of TRT World for spreading misinformation and propaganda related to India's military operations against Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-14 |title=Turkish broadcaster's X account briefly blocked in India over misinformation |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/turkish-broadcaster-trt-worlds-x-account-withheld-in-india-for-spreading-misinformation-2724587-2025-05-14 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> The Indian government cited TRT World's amplification of unverified and manipulated content, including pro-Pakistan narratives, distorted reporting on Kashmir, and dissemination of false claims about Indian military actions. This move was part of a broader crackdown on foreign media outlets accused of violating Indian IT rules and spreading disinformation amid heightened tensions, though TRT World's website and other social media accounts remained accessible during the ban.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-14 |title=7 factors that forced India to crack down on Turkey's TRT |url=https://www.firstpost.com/world/india-bans-blocks-trt-world-media-boycott-turkey-tensions-with-pakistan-operation-sindoor-13888418.html |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Firstpost |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-15 |title=India lifts block on Global Times and TRT World X accounts, Xinhua handle still withheld |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/india-blocks-x-accounts-of-these-turkish-and-chinese-websites/3844317/ |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Financialexpress |language=en}}</ref>
== Awards and nominations == In 2023 TRT World was awarded an International Emmy for its documentary on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was titled "Off The Grid".<ref>{{Cite web |title=PROGRAMS ON UKRAINE WAR FROM UK & TURKEY WIN INTERNATIONAL EMMYS® FOR NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS |url=https://www.iemmys.tv/programs-on-ukraine-war-from-uk-turkey-win-international-emmys-for-news-current-affairs-trt-world-garners-first-emmy-win-for-a-current-affairs-program-from-turkey/ |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences |language=en-US |archive-date=10 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240810012615/https://www.iemmys.tv/programs-on-ukraine-war-from-uk-turkey-win-international-emmys-for-news-current-affairs-trt-world-garners-first-emmy-win-for-a-current-affairs-program-from-turkey/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2018 TRT World was nominated in five categories at the Drum Online Media Awards:
* Social Media Team of the year<ref name="drum">{{Cite news|url=http://www.onlinemediaawards.net/online-media-awards/online-media-awards-2018#75191|title=Online Media Awards 2018|date=31 October 2017|work=The Drum Awards|access-date=22 April 2018|language=en|archive-date=28 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928092930/https://www.onlinemediaawards.net/online-media-awards/online-media-awards-2018#75191|url-status=live}}</ref> * Technology Leader of the year<ref name="drum"/> * Breaking News Story of the year<ref name="drum"/> * App of the year<ref name="drum"/> * Technical Innovation of the year<ref name="drum"/>
== Notable staff ==
* Ghida Fakhry * Maria Ramos * Adnan Nawaz * Imran Garda * Andrea Sanke
== See also == * TRT Haber * List of world news channels
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website}}
{{TRT}} {{World news channels}} {{European Broadcasting Union Members}} {{Television in Turkey}}
Category:24-hour television news channels in Turkey Category:European Broadcasting Union members Category:International broadcasters Category:Mass media in Ankara Category:Multilingual news services Category:Publicly funded English language broadcasters Category:State media Category:Television channels and stations established in 2015 Category:Television channels in North Macedonia Category:Turkish news websites Category:Turkish Radio and Television Corporation