Turkey’s deputy culture and tourism minister, Batuhan Mumcu, accused Spotify of sharing “content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society.”
JULY 21, 2025
JERUSALEM POST
Popular music streaming service Spotify has threatened to withdraw from Turkey after Turkish ministers slammed the company for playlists mocking Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife for their lavish spending, according to international media reports from last week.
Turkey’s deputy culture and tourism minister, Batuhan Mumcu, accused Spotify of sharing “content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society.”
Mumcu took particular issue with the “insidious and provocative” playlists which he claimed were “incompatible with the cultural and moral values of our nation, and targets the unity and solidarity of our society.”
The “Emine Ergodan hotgirl playlist”, “Songs Emine Erdogan listened to when her golden faucet broke” and “The songs Emine Erdogan listens to while cleaning the palace” all target the lavish spending of Erdogan’s wife Emine.
Erdogan's life of luxuryNearly one-third of Turkey’s population is currently at risk of poverty or social exclusion, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported in 2023 - making rumors of Erdogan’s lavish spending a particular source of anger for local populations.
Designing taste itself for you. Spotify (credit: REUTERS/CHRISTIAN HARTMANN/FILE PHOTO)
In 2015, it was rumored by an opposition figure that the Turkish president had a golden toilet installed in their 1,000 room Ankara palace. Denying that a golden toilet was ever installed in the $400 million palace, Erdogan threatened legal action against the opposition figure responsible for the rumor and the accusation was later withdrawn.
“Despite international digital platforms like Spotify having a significant user base in the Turkish market, they have neither established a local representation nor taken responsibility for supporting local music culture,” Mumcu accused.“Aside from the failure to fulfill tax obligations, prioritising sensation over quality in content algorithms — promoting content that encourages slang, violence, and the use of prohibited substances in playlists — is an unacceptable choice.”
Despite his accusations Ifod, the Turkish freedom of expression organization reportedly confirmed last week that left-wing Turkish bands had been censored from Spotify on government orders.
“Despite international digital platforms like Spotify having a significant user base in the Turkish market, they have neither established a local representation nor taken responsibility for supporting local music culture,” Mumcu accused.“Aside from the failure to fulfill tax obligations, prioritising sensation over quality in content algorithms — promoting content that encourages slang, violence, and the use of prohibited substances in playlists — is an unacceptable choice.”
Despite his accusations Ifod, the Turkish freedom of expression organization reportedly confirmed last week that left-wing Turkish bands had been censored from Spotify on government orders.
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