Media Ethics Committee Warns TAK Over Mistranslation: “Invaders” Rendered as “Turks”
The Media Ethics Committee has issued a warning to the Turkish News Agency Cyprus (TAK) for mistranslating the term “invaders” as “Turks” in a news report based on a Greek-language source. The committee described the translation as misleading, out of context, and conducive to hate speech, criticizing the agency’s correction attempt as insufficient and calling on TAK to issue a public clarification.
In a statement released on the matter, the committee said the translation error occurred in TAK’s April 20, 2025 report on the Archbishop’s Easter message. It emphasized that translating the term “invaders” as “Turks” distorts the original meaning and promotes a narrative of hostility.
The committee highlighted that while TAK had attempted a correction, it lacked clarity and failed to properly address the ethical implications. It urged the agency to publish a transparent public correction.
“Translating conflict-related content between different languages demands particular ethical sensitivity,” the committee stated, noting that misuse of terminology or misinterpretation of idioms can lead to misinformation, especially in conflict regions.
The statement continued: “In the case at hand, the attempt to substitute the term ‘invaders’ with a more generalized meaning resulted in a loss of context, fostering manipulation and hate speech, and ultimately leading to a distorted understanding of the original message.”
The Media Ethics Committee concluded by calling on TAK, as a public broadcaster with an important role, to take responsibility and issue a full correction to prevent the spread of misleading and inflammatory narratives.
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