After the massive earthquake in Turkey, rescue workers use Twitter to communicate. But the use of the platform is now restricted.
Munich – It is one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of Turkey: So far, more than 9,000 people have died in 10 cities in the earthquake in the south of the country. Thousands still lie under the rubble. Rescue teams use the Twitter platform extensively for communication. Relatives and the earthquake victims themselves transmit their position to the rescue workers. But now Turkish authorities have restricted use and caused outrage.
Twitter use restricted in Turkey despite the importance of the platform for rescue work
In fact, Turkish influencers and other famous personalities use their reach on Twitter to communicate the location of survivors and places where help is still needed to the rescue teams. Hundreds of lives have been saved so far.
However, on Wednesday afternoon (February 8), users in Turkey suddenly reported interruptions on the platform. The communications office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the suspicion when asked by the journalist Cüneyt Özdemir: Twitter was actually restricted. Özdemir quoted the response from Erdogan’s office in the live broadcast on his YouTube channel.
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In order to take action against “posts on the Internet and criminal activities through these posts” and within the framework of the Electronic News Act, the Authority for Information and Communication Technology (BTK) restricted the use, Özdemir explained. This caused an outcry on Twitter. Now users are trying to maintain Twitter access through VPN programs.
The leader of the largest opposition party, CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, sharply criticized the decision. “The palace government, having lost their minds, has restricted communication through social media,” he wrote. He called for the use of VPN programs to continue accessing the platform. Kilicdaroglu’s allies, Deva Chairman Ali Babacan and Gelecek Chairman Ahmet Davutoglu joined the protest.
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Journalist Fatih Altayli also commented. “While all rescue teams use Twitter to communicate, it’s a good idea to turn Twitter off to silence opposition voices,” he wrote wryly. Many suspect that the step was actually intended to slow down the visibility of criticism of the Erdogan government. After all, hundreds of videos of earthquake victims and their families complaining about the slow help in many places spread on the platform.
Erdogan himself, during his visit to the city of Kahramanmaras, addressed the citizens and asked them “to give no ground to provocateurs”. He also addressed journalists: “I ask you not to offer any ground to those who offer provocateurs a floor.” The displeasure of the population is also directed against the pro-government media, which actively suppress critical voices in interviews on site. (bb)