The study takes place from the recent significant technological advancements, notably in Generative AI, which are reshaping the media landscape. Turkey's news media grappled with mounting political pressure, as well as they contended with the adverse impacts of platforms on journalism. Starting from previous studies that have identified Turkish news websites and Google's search engine as the predominant digital channels for news in Turkey, the goal of the paper is to assess biases in Google’s algorithm in the coverage of Turkish news websites throughout 2023.
Methodology
Development of a monitoring tool for news-related search results on Google, through the scraping and analysis of over one million recommendations for Turkish news on Google's search engine. The analysis included Google’s search results, trending searches and the monitoring of the homepage of Google News. Development of a second tool to monitor Turkish news websites, creating of a collection of articles, emotional analysis of headlines, thematic analysis of the coverage.
Key findings
- A pronounced bias in Google’s search results toward Turkey’s pro government media outlets.
- A concerning contraction in the diversity of sources featured in Google’s news recommendations.
- A predominantly negative sentiment in covering political oppositions.
- Pro government media are better equipped in SEO-focused content production, prefer easier-to-read and more positive headlines.
Policy Recommendations
To Google
- Explore innovative methods to "elevate quality journalism" while firmly demoting low-quality or plagiarized Turkish news content.
- Experiment to fight disinformation, for instance prompting users to consider accuracy of content.
- Treat journalism as a public good and regularly evaluate the credibility of news publishers.
To news outlets
- Keep prioritizing public interest and audience trust.
- Develop a systematic approach to quality journalist.
- Considet external audits to ensure editorial quality.
To civil society
- Monitor and hold accountable digital platforms.
- Support independent newsrooms and vital stakeholders in the media cosystem as well.
- Collaboration with non-profits organisations that focus on quality journalism.
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