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Twitter Blocked in Turkey

Prime minister Erdogan on the defensive after claims of corruption.

Turkey's Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, has blocked Turkey's access of the popular microblogging website Twitter, declaring his intention to "eradicate" Twitter to prevent his political opponents from waging a smear campaign against him. This blatant move of censorship has been almost universally criticized, even provoking dissent within his own political group, the Justice and Development party. Even Turkish President Gul has denounced the social media ban as" unacceptable." 

This controversial maneuver by Erdogan is in response to numerous recordings that allegedly indicate corruption in Erdogan's regime. These recordings have been published and spread around via Twitter, earning Erdogan's ire. He claims that they are "vile fakes" and that they are part of a larger attempt to discredit his government.  

Other international voices have spoken out against the censorship. Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, called it "groundless, pointless and cowardly" while U.S. State Department spokewoman Jen Psaki said "this action is contrary to Turkey’s own express desire to uphold the highest standards of democracy and efforts to attract foreign investment."
The consensus is that this act of censorship is showing Erdogan's weakening hold on Turkey, especially after the Gezi Park protests. 

Unfortunately for Erdogan, twitter usage has skyrocketed in Turkey in defiance of the ban.

25 March 2014

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