As Turkey prepares for a presidential election(opens in a new tab) Sunday which is likely to have ripple effects on populations around the world, Twitter assumes its own criticisms, restrict certain content(opens in a new tab) related to the election to keep the site functional in anticipation of an expected flood of posts – but onlookers are waving red flags of censorship.
“In response to the legal process and to ensure that Twitter remains available to the people of Turkey, we have taken steps to restrict access to certain content in Turkey today,” the company’s Global Government Affairs account wrote in a series of tweets Friday night. “We have notified account holders of this action in accordance with our policy. This content will remain available in the rest of the world.”
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On Saturday, users were shouting at platform choice as they shouted at censorship of free speech.
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Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded to the immediate notes of concern in his own way, taking to Twitter to engage with users following the announcement. However, Musk raised more concern, hinting that the Turkish government contacted Twitter about the upcoming election in response to a user’s query about the reasoning behind the block. Musk wrote:We could publish what the government of Turkey sent to us. It will be fine.(opens in a new tab)”
Musk also responded to Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias, who accused the CEO and his platform of acquiescing to Erdoğan’s censorship demands, tweeting, “Did your brain fall out of your head, Yglesias? The choice is for Twitter to be throttled in its entirety or to limit access to a few tweets. Which one do you want ?”
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The hotly contested election could decide the fate of the country’s longest serving incumbent, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power for 21 years. Erdoğan’s alignment with Turkey’s conservative and Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) has reinforced his presence as an authoritarian and nationalist figure.
In 2016, sections of the Turkish military, joined by citizens galvanized by social media news coverage, attempted a government coup(opens in a new tab) overthrow Erdoğan, but the murderous attempt failed to overthrow him from power. The country’s alignment with Russia has recently pushed Turkey out of favor with other global power-holders, while at home the leader bribes potential voters with promises of free gas(opens in a new tab) And cellular data(opens in a new tab).
This year, as Erdoğan takes on his parliamentary opponent Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish citizens are also voting with the recent natural disasters (and government response) in mind, after a series of devastating earthquakes killed more than 50,000 people and destroyed millions of buildings. in central and northern Turkey. As of this writing, Kılıçdaroğlu is just ahead of Erdoğan.
At the same time, human rights organizations have warned voters and viewers of the potential for nationwide censorship(opens in a new tab) by Erdoğan’s government, with some warnings of a widespread digital effort to undermine the election outcome.
“The Turkish government accelerated its efforts to enforce censorship and tighten control over social media and independent online news sites ahead of this election,” Deborah Brown, senior technology researcher at Human Rights Watch, wrote in a report on the history of oppression in Turkey and its rise. In digital censorship tools(opens in a new tab). “The vote will test whether voters in Turkey can rely on social media for independent information and to express their views on the election and its outcome, despite the government’s efforts to bring companies under its sway.”
