ANKARA — An Istanbul court on Wednesday ordered an access ban for T24, Turkey’s award-winning news website, as the country widens its crackdown on dissent.

T24 is a liberal-leaning independent news outlet covering national politics, foreign policy, the economy, courts and crime, as well as culture and social issues.

What happened: An Istanbul court ordered the website blocked, citing 118 pieces of content published over the past year that authorities alleged were “LGBT propaganda.”

T24 Ankara bureau chief Gokcer Tahincioglu said the ruling was the result of a weeks-long social media smear campaign accusing the outlet of "spreading LGBT propaganda.”