Doğu Eroğlu

Director, founder

Eroğlu has been working as a reporter since 2011. Environmental affairs (Climate change, environmental justice, fossil fuel and mining industries), and conflict (Radicalization, ISIS and al-Qaeda studies) are among his specializations.

Eroğlu is an alumnus and research fellow of the AHDA Program of the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Eroğlu’s first book Islamic State Networks (Turkish. IŞİD Ağları) was published in 2018.

Besides contributing to Medyascope, Eroğlu works on independent research projects, and video productions as well (See most recent collaborations here).

Eroğlu also designs and implements journalism trainings in themes including investigative journalism, conflict reporting, covering environmental justice issues, and climate journalism.

Professional experiences

Cumhuriyet (Print newspaper) – 2011-2012
Türkiye’den Şiddet Hikayeleri (Online storytelling platform) – 2012-2013
BirGün (Print newspaper) – 2013-2017
Diken (Online) – 2017-2018
Medyascope (Online news outlet) – 2018-2023

By-lines

Vice.com
Newsweek Europe
Al-Monitor
Blakcsea.eu
BBC International

Research interests

Non-state armed groups, Islamic radicalism and jihadist groups (with a focus on the Islamic State and al-Qaeda)
Illegal trade networks and trafficking, arms and ammunition trafficking
Climate change, climate justice, fossil fuel industries and mining sector
Environmental conflicts, environmental justice

Notable works and publications

Exposé: BTK-gate: Internet activity, identity, and personal data of all users in Turkey has been collected by BTK for the past year and a half (Appeared in Medyascope, on July 2022)

Investigation: A deep-dive into Turkey’s plastic production and recycling landscape (Appeared in Medyascope, on February 2021, please see the documentary’s standalone website for further articles and infographics produced by Doğu Eroğlu: https://plastiginyolculugu.com/)

Exposé: A team of journalists including Doğu Eroğlu, revealed that one of the industry hotbeds of Turkey, Dilovası-Kocaeli, also harbours an illegal industrial waste burial site that contains leftover industrial waste from the 1980s and 1990s. Eroğlu and fellow investigative journalists discovered the waste site, traced it back to factories that were producing their goods in the area, and proved scientific results that buried industrial waste pose threat to the environment and the local dwellers (Appeared in Medyascope and Blacksea.eu on October 2019)

Investigation: ISIS Networks (TUR. IŞİD Ağları) is Eroğlu’s extensive account of Islamic State-related activities that happened in Turkey, between the years 2014-2017. After years of on-the-ground reporting and research in many cities, and the Turkey-Syria border, in ISIS Networks, Eroğlu attempted to discover recruitment dynamics of Islamic State networks in Turkey, while unravelling different radicalization narratives and modus operandi that each local cell was characterized with. Eroğlu also schematized how Islamic State-related institutions based in Turkey run their intrinsic operations ranging from, border traffic for jihadists and goods, medical networks, production and distribution of false documents, procurement and supply of improvised explosive device (IED) materials, and supply networks of arms and ammunitions (IŞİD Ağları was published by İletişim Yayınları on August 2018)

Exposé: International explosive manufacturers, based in Spain, India, and Australia, establish partnerships, or simply acquire local companies in Turkey, only to re-export their detonating cords to ISIS and other Salafi jihadists that are aligned with Jabhat al Nusra. Meanwhile, the Turkish government seemingly turns a blind eye to the shipment of IED materials, and allegedly orchestrates it according to a local court’s bill of indictment, through former military and police personnel. Eroğlu exposes the trafficking ring which ships IED materials to the Islamic State (Appeared in BirGün on April 2016)

Exposé: For the first time, a detailed account of an Islamic State fighter of Turkish origin has been published by Eroğlu. 29-year-old C.A. was born and raised in Ankara’s infamous Hacibayram district, where he first met al-Qaeda-associated Salafist missionaries during his teenage years. After he became a drug addict in his late childhood, his life changed drastically. “Once my mind turned to drugs, I gave up on everything. I started heroin in 2002. One thing leads to another, you know? First, I took up pills, then cocaine. I kept increasing the dose and finally ended up with heroin. But I gave up all drugs in the Islamic State,” he says. In February 2014, over a decade of Salafist preaching convinced him to leave Turkey for Syria, to join ISIS as a fighter (Appeared in BirGün on July 2015)

Exposé: During the Syrian Civil War, Gaziantep was one of the logistics hubs, that provided safe passage to fighters, arms and ammunition and provisions required by non-state armed factions fighting in Syria and Iraq. The town also provided medical services for jihadist fighters. One of the underground clinics that offer medical services to jihadist groups was exposed by Eroğlu. (Appeared on BirGün on October 2014)