Can an Instagram Post Be Embedded in a News Story in Turkey?

What does embedding do technically?

An embed code places an iframe or a script on your page. The reader's browser pulls the story from your server and the post from the platform's server. There are two separate requests coming from two separate sources.

• The image file, the video file and the text of the post stay on the platform's server; they are not copied onto your hosting.
• If the post is deleted or the account is closed, the space on your page goes blank.
• By offering an embed code the platform makes it technically possible for the content to be displayed this way; but that does not give third parties any statutory right of use.
• If the post is edited, what appears in your story changes too - even though you have done nothing.
• An embed code usually also carries the platform's tracking and cookie infrastructure onto your page.

Is there a specific provision on "embedding" in Turkish legislation?

No. The Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works No. 5846 contains no specific provision on embedding, linking or framing. The statute does not define these acts as a separate category and does not attach a separate exception to them. The assessment is therefore made through Article 22, which governs the reproduction right, and Article 25, which governs the right of communication to the public.

FSEK Article 22 - the reproduction right

Article 22 - (Amended: 7/6/1995 - 4110/8)

(Amended: 21/2/2001 - 4630/13) The right to reproduce the original or
copies of a work, in any form or by any method, in whole or in part,
directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently, belongs
exclusively to the author.

Making a second copy from the original of a work, or recording the
work onto any device serving the transmission and repetition of signs,
sounds and images, whether known or to be developed in the future, as
well as all kinds of sound and music recordings and the execution of
plans, projects and sketches of works of architecture, are likewise
deemed to be reproduction. The same rule applies to relief and
perforated moulds.

The provision defines reproduction as broadly as it can: "in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently". In an embedding scenario the critical question is this: is the content being recorded onto your server? In pure embedding it is not - the file stays on the platform and all you display is an address. By contrast, if you download the image and upload it into your media library, that is plainly reproduction within the meaning of Article 22.

FSEK Article 25 - communication to the public by means serving the transmission of signs, sounds and/or images

d) Right of communication to the public by means serving the
   transmission of signs, sounds and/or images:

Article 25 - (Amended: 21/2/2001 - 4630/15)

The right to communicate the original or reproduced copies of a work
to the public, by broadcasting it through wired or wireless
broadcasting organisations such as radio and television, satellite and
cable, or by means serving the transmission of signs, sounds and/or
images, including digital transmission, and by the rebroadcasting of
broadcast works taken from the broadcasts of such organisations by
other broadcasting organisations, belongs exclusively to the author.

The author also has the right to authorise or to prohibit the sale or
other forms of distribution or offering to the public of the original
or reproduced copies of the work by wired or wireless means, and its
communication to the public by providing access to the work to natural
persons at a place and time of their own choosing.

The phrase in Article 25(2) - "communication to the public by providing access to the work to natural persons at a place and time of their own choosing" - is the statutory counterpart of on-demand access over the internet. In embedding, the server that technically provides that access is the platform's server; but the reader reaches the content through your page. The statute does not draw this distinction - its text gives no clear answer to the question "who is providing the access". For that reason, whether embedding counts as a separate act of communication to the public cannot be deduced from the wording of the statute alone, and in a concrete case it is left to the court's assessment.

Embedding versus copying - in a single table

When does embedding turn into copying?

In practice, a lot of what gets called "embedding" is in fact reproduction. Article 22 is engaged in the following situations:

• Taking a screenshot of the post and uploading it as the story image - this is reproduction; for the detail, see our article on the use of screenshots.
• Downloading the video and uploading it to your own player.
• Using the embed code while at the same time copying the image onto your server as the cover or featured image.
• Carrying the post's image over into the social media share card (the Open Graph image).
• Using a plugin or a CDN that caches the embedded content - Article 22 covers "temporary" reproduction as well.

The archive problem: if the post is deleted, your story is left without evidence

The biggest journalistic risk of embedding is not legal but archival. When the statement the story rests on is deleted, what is left in your story in its place is an empty box. The reader cannot see the source of the claim; and in a dispute you cannot prove what it was that you published.

• The account holder can delete the post or close the account.
• If the account is switched to private, the embedded content becomes invisible to third parties.
• The platform can change or withdraw its embedding infrastructure; old embed codes stop working.
• If an access-blocking decision affects the platform, the embedded content becomes invisible from Turkey.
• When you are faced with a right of reply and correction request, you have to document what content you published - embedding alone does not give you that.

Technical recommendation: embed code and archive record together

The right approach is to do both: show it to the reader by embedding, and leave an unchanging record in the newsroom archive. The archive record is not published; it is kept solely for proof and internal control. That distinction matters, because keeping something for evidential purposes and using it for publication are not the same thing.

STORY FILE - EMBEDDED CONTENT RECORD

Story slug          : ..................................
Platform embedded   : Instagram / X / Facebook / YouTube / other
Post URL            : ..................................
Account handle/name : @.............. ( ...................... )
Date of the post    : ....../....../..........  time ..........
Date/time accessed  : ....../....../..........  time ..........
Type of embed code  : official embed code / oEmbed / iframe

ARCHIVE RECORD (not published)
  [ ] Full-page screenshot taken (file: ..............)
  [ ] Text of the post copied as plain text
  [ ] HTML capture of the page taken
  [ ] Independent web archive link: .....................
  [ ] Recorded by: ................  signature/username: ......

PUBLICATION NOTE
  Function of the embedded content in the story:
    evidence / statement / image
  If the post is deleted, what replaces it:
    "The post in question was removed from publication as of
     [date]. Its text as at the date we accessed it was: ..."
  Responsible editor : ...................................

The duty to cite the source continues in embedding too

Embedding does not remove the obligation to cite the source. Even if the platform interface displays the account name, the story text has to say who said what. FSEK Article 36(3) requires the name of the newspaper, magazine or agency quoted from, and - where the item was taken from another source - the name, date and issue number of that source, as well as the names of the authors of the articles, to be stated. We covered how to build a credit line in our article on citing sources, and the sanction for republishing without credit in the related article.

The data protection dimension - a short note

If the embedded post identifies a person, personal data is being displayed on your page. In addition, the embed code usually carries the platform's cookie and tracking infrastructure into the reader's browser, which creates a separate obligation in terms of cookie consent. We deal with the use of personal data in editorial content in our article on personal data in news reporting, and with third-party cookies in our article on cookie consent.

Pre-publication checklist

[ ] Verified that the post really belongs to that account
    (not a parody or fake account)
[ ] Account verification badge and history checked
[ ] Text of the post also carried into the story as plain text
[ ] The platform's OFFICIAL embed code used (not your own iframe)
[ ] Image/video NOT COPIED onto your server
[ ] The post's image not used as the featured image
[ ] Screenshot + HTML capture taken into the archive (not published)
[ ] Date and time of access recorded
[ ] Source credit written into the story text
[ ] Cookie effect of the embedded content reflected in the cookie
    policy
[ ] Fallback text prepared in case the post is deleted
[ ] Procedure to follow on receipt of a takedown request settled

What to do on the hosting side?

Embedded content comes from outside; your page load time now depends on a third party's infrastructure. Story pages carrying many embeds both slow down and are exposed to outages in external scripts. Your archive records, on the other hand, need to sit with you, accessible and backed up. On KEYDAL hosting infrastructure you can keep the news archive and media records with backups, so that your newsroom record survives even if the embedded content disappears.