Tightening the noose around the neck of Turkey’s independent news media, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged media organs and regulators to take "decisive steps" against programs that undermine Turkey’s national and moral fabric.

The Jan. 28 presidential circular called on “all institutions and parties concerned” to prevent “harmful content” in print, audiovisual and social media and heralded new efforts to promote children’s programs that uphold national and family values. 

Evoking family values has been an Erdogan trademark ever since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002. His eulogies on national values and the family as the base of society are often peppered with pledges about protecting Turkey’s youth from harmful influences such as alcohol, tobacco, unrestricted internet access and in his latest circular, Western-inspired television programs.

Turkey’s iron-fisted president demanded “decisive steps” to weed out programs that harm young Turks, particularly programs that were inspired by Western models or contain “certain symbols to give a message.” The vague wording led some pundits to point a finger at the Turkish adaptation of the international show “The Masked Singer,” in which celebrities perform in costumes with colorful masks to hide their identities. Conservative newspapers compared the performances to pagan or Satanic rituals and the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK), Turkey's broadcasting watchdog, opened an investigation into the show. Others said that the president meant symbols such as rainbows or androgynous cartoon characters, which some conservative pundits accuse of normalizing homosexuality.