Turkey's independent news websites face closure risk after Google changes

FILE PHOTO: A man stands in front of a Google logo during a media reception at the Google France headquarters ahead of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, France, February 9, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Several independent media outlets in Turkey face a potential risk of closure after algorithm changes made by Google led to a significant reduction in reader traffic, a joint statement from the outlets said on Thursday.

They said Google's algorithm changes since the end of January had wiped out the vast majority of reader traffic to their websites, previously directed through Google's "Discover" and "News" tools, and had harmed their finances.