We are living through a period in which the future of democracy is under threat worldwide. In a multipolar world, authoritarian leaders still feel comfortable and able to remain unaffected by Western demands for law and human rights.

Turkey, a country that ten years ago aspired to join the European Union and had the opportunity to become a full-fledged democracy, is being transformed into an authoritarian regime that is being called a model case internationally.

Turkey occupies a unique place among the new authoritarian regimes as it faces a major dilemma in the form of the Kurdish question. The belief that "the West is trying to divide Turkey", which has never lost its strength since the days of the perpetrators of the Armenian genocide, the Committee of Union and Progress, continues to be nurtured and reinforced with strong support not only among Islamists but also among secularists. Unfortunately, both groups are ready and willing to compromise democracy and law in the name of "national unity and solidarity".

Following the attempted coup of 15 July, the country is still under a nameless state of emergency and the unlawfulness generated by a makeshift "presidential system" continues apace. Turkey is increasingly detached from the West, Western values are perceived as a threat to the country's independence, and the gap between Turkey and the "world" is widening.

The move away from democracy has inevitably led to the promotion of the use of arms and war rather than negotiation in relations with neighbouring countries. Turkey has become a threat to countries in the region, especially to those it perceives to be weaker than itself. It has become directly involved in the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Iraq, Syria and Libya; it is threatening Greece with the occupation of its islands.

We are all aware that journalists in Turkey have been under great pressure and have been working at the risk of their own safety in recent times, as those who defend freedom of expression, those who believe in democracy and organisations associated with democratic values are considered by the government as criminals and traitors.

Regardless of the conditions in Turkey, regardless of the increasing challenges to journalism, as +Gercek family we will not give up our commitment to all the principles we believe in, namely democracy, equity, pluralism, the rule of law, and freedom of expression; on the contrary, we will insist on our commitment and ambition to practice journalism in spite of everything.

The purpose of the news portal +GercekNews, which is a new addition to the ArtıTV and +Gerçek newspaper family, is to tell the readers the “facts” of Turkey, as the name suggests (the word 'gerçek' literally translates as the “truth”).

Only the cooperation of democracies can avert the danger these days, when there is a risk of seeking a solution not through further democratization but through more war and repression. Therefore, it is time to reunite with the world, not to withdraw into ourselves. +GercekNews aims to tell the world about Turkey and to bring Turkey to the world.

The journalism we will strive to do aims to provide insight into the situation in Turkey, regional politics, the opposition's position on various issues, and internal struggles and dynamics through information and analysis.

The journalism we will strive to do aims to provide insight into the situation in Turkey, regional politics, the opposition's position on various issues, and internal struggles and dynamics through information and analysis.

Therefore, in addition to our colleagues in Turkey, we will be working with our colleagues and experts in Washington DC, New York, Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin, The Hague, Athens, Nicosia, Yerevan, Damascus, Tehran, Baghdad, Rojava, Cairo and Moscow in order to ensure that our readers in Turkey and all over the world have unrestricted access to news and information centered on Turkey and its relations with countries in the region.

With wholehearted belief in freedom of expression and editorial independence, we aspire to inform the world about Turkey and developments in the region, and to take part in the task of bringing Turkey into the world where it belongs.

We would like to thank in advance our teammates, who will strive to ensure that we tell the "truth," our writers, who will contribute their experience and expertise through their analysis and articles, and our readers, who we believe will support free journalism.

With the hope of delivering “gerçek/ the truth" to our readers not only in Turkey but also around the world...

*Ergun Babahan graduated from Istanbul University Law School in 1981. After a short time working as a lawyer, he stepped into journalism as a reporter in Yeni Asır. He worked as an editor, managing editor and editor-in-chief in Söz, Hürriyet, Sabah and Yeni Binyıl newspapers, respectively. He joined the John Knight Professional Program at Stanford University with a German Marshall Fund scholarship in 1988, and the American Foreign Policy Process program at the University of Maryland in 1990 with a Ford Foundation scholarship. Babahan served as the editor-in-chief for +Gercek and now works as editor-in-chief for +GercekNews.