An advert for the anti-LGBT march was also shown on television after gaining the approval of the country’s broadcasting council, which deemed it a "public interest".
ADVERTISEMENTSeveral thousand people have taken part in an anti-LGBT demonstration in Istanbul.
They called for LGBT associations to be closed down and displayed signs that read: "protect your family and your generation", "Say no to society without gender", and "Father + mother + baby = family".
A speaker for the event, Kursat Mican, also claimed organisers received 150,000 signatures on a petition calling for a ban on what they called LGBT "propaganda” in social media, sports, arts and Netflix.
An advert for the anti-LGBT march was also shown on television after gaining the approval of the country’s broadcasting council, which deemed it a "public interest".
The country’s largest anti-LGBT demonstration was criticised by human rights organisations.
ILGA Europe, an organisation fighting for LGBT equality in Europe and Central Asia, tweeted: "the Turkish state needs to uphold its constitutional obligation to protect all its citizens against hate and violence".
Meanwhile, Turkey's Amnesty International office said public service announcements advertising the march violated Turkey’s non-discrimination principles.