March 8, 2012

New Yorker Magazine’s article raises questions about its journalistic objectivity and impartiality

fgulen.com

An article published in the March 2012 issue of The New Yorker Magazine is more than disappointing to us at fgulen.com, the official website representing M. Fethullah Gülen. Written by Dexter Filkins, “Letter from Turkey: the Deep State” article is compromising The New Yorker’s and Filkin’s reputation in quality journalism and objective reporting as it reports biased accusations to Fethullah Gülen.

The article extensively uses unverified and misleading information about Fethullah Gülen’s thought and work, and quotes almost exclusively from individuals who apparently vary from antagonistic to hostile towards him. One would expect from an award-winning journalist like Mr. Filkin a rather more objective reporting both on Turkey’s democratization and on the opinion leaders, one of whom is certainly Fethullah Gülen. Similarly, we hope that the New Yorker Magazine’s editorial board would be considerate enough to ensure that its distinguished readers hear the other side of the story. Otherwise, the Magazine would inadvertently become part of a defamation campaign, which has apparently been waged by some marginalized groups against Fethullah Gülen and millions of people who appreciate his thoughts and work.