As online criticism of the government’s response to last week’s tragic earthquake surged, Twitter became inaccessible on major Turkish cell providers on Wednesday. Twitter is being blocked “on multiple internet providers in Turkey,” according to the social media monitoring website netblocks.org. The monitor added, “Turkey has an extensive history of social media restrictions during national emergencies and safety incidents.”
⚠️ Confirmed: Real-time network data show Twitter has been restricted in #Turkey; the filtering is applied on major internet providers and comes as the public come to rely on the service in the aftermath of a series of deadly earthquakes
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 8, 2023
📰 Report: https://t.co/CEbfgeBpvz pic.twitter.com/3884wMpYD2
⚠️ Update: Live metrics show that the Twitter restriction in #Turkey has been extended to more internet providers. The filtering measure is likely to impact community rescue efforts underway after the series of deadly earthquakes on Monday.
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 8, 2023
📰 Report: https://t.co/CEbfgeBpvz pic.twitter.com/51j66jAydA
According to reports, it followed online criticism of Erdoğan’s administration for failing to effectively respond after a devastating earthquake struck the country on Monday. Following the deadly earthquake, Turkish social media was swamped with complaints from users about the status of search and rescue activities in various localities. Erdogan was traveling through two of Turkey’s most severely impacted regions when the Twitter shutdown occurred.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, tweeted on Wednesday that the Turkish government had notified his company that full access to the social media network would return “shortly” to the nation.
Twitter has been informed by the Turkish government that access will be reenabled shortly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 8, 2023
The AFP news agency corroborated the claim of Twitter’s unavailability, stating that on Wednesday, the major Turkish cell providers were unable to offer access to the microblogging site to their correspondents on the ground. Only the use of VPN services to mask a user’s location allowed continued access.
Since the quake on Monday, Turkish authorities have also jailed more than a dozen people for posting on social media about the poor response of the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan government to the catastrophe.
Regarding the service disruption, no immediate statements were made by Turkish officials. However, they had issued several warnings about disseminating false information ahead of a pivotal election on May 14, in which Erdoğan will seek re-election.
