Twitter down in Turkiye as quake response criticism mounts

ISTANBUL: Twitter became inaccessible on major Turkish mobile providers on Wednesday as online criticism mounted of the government´s response to this week´s deadly earthquake.

AFP reporters were unable to access the social media network in Turkiye. It was still accessible using VPN services that disguise a user´s location. The netblocks.org social media monitor said Twitter was being restricted “on multiple internet providers in Turkiye”.

“Turkiye has an extensive history of social media restrictions during national emergencies and safety incidents,” the monitor added. Turkish police have detained more than a dozen people since Monday´s earthquake over social media posts that criticised how President Recep Tayyip Erdogan´s government has been dealing with the disaster. Monday´s 7.8-magnitude tremor and its aftershocks killed at least 11,200 people in southeastern Turkiye and parts of Syria.