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Dear John,

In the early hours of February 6, a pair of earthquakes struck southern and central Turkey, leaving tens of thousands dead and millions more homeless across Turkey and neighboring Syria. 

Until that moment, Turkey’s attention was on politics. After five years under the new superpresidential system that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has designed around himself, the country’s main opposition was gearing up to announce a unity candidate representing six parties for the upcoming spring elections.

Yet it is a marker of how deeply politicized Erdoğan’s leadership has left Turkey that the earthquakes did not put even a day’s pause on politics. Instead, they raised the stakes in what already felt like an existential election. 
 

Beijing’s Censors Could Shape the Future of AI-Generated Content

AI-driven tools are used widely inside China for politicized content monitoring, censorship, and public surveillance. As the world moves into a new phase of AI integration, the practices pioneered by technology firms at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could have ramifications for internet users, policymakers, and companies well beyond China’s borders.

Election Watch: Thailand

Thailand is preparing to hold general elections in May 2023. Public discontent with the military-backed government has been growing. However, electoral interference to undermine support for opposition parties or those otherwise not aligned with the military is likely. 

Freedom House's Election Watch team follows key issues to watch ahead of election day. 

Political Prisoner Spotlight

A Turkish human rights journalist, Safiye Alagaş is in prison with fellow journalists, accused of making “terrorist propaganda." She continues to write and conduct her reporting from behind bars, promising that she and her colleagues will not give up until they obtain their freedom.

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