In an attempt to halt widespread
allegations of corruption, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
shuttered Twitter, but, it seems,
ineffectively as the move backfired on him.
Erdogan's showdown with Twitter has been
long coming. In mid-2013, thousands of
protests ripped across Turkey ostensibly in
opposition to a proposed urban development
of Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park.
As in other countries, social media played a
major role in the protests, which included as
many as 3.5 million people in a nation of 81
million.
Erdogan was outraged and called all social
media the "worst menace to society".
On Thursday night Erdogan announced that,
following a court order, Twitter was now
disabled in the country.
"We'll eradicate Twitter. I don't care what
the international community says.
Everyone will witness the power of the
Turkish Republic," he said.
The move follows the posting - and widespread
sharing - of voice recordings and documents
on Twitter that appear to provide evidence of
widespread corruption.
According to Forbes, the leaks come from two
users: one named Haramzadeler, meaning
'sons of thieves', and the other Bascalan, or
'prime thief'.
In one, Erdogan is heard warning his son to
remove a quantity of suspect cash from his
and other houses, following the news that the
police were raiding premises as part of a wide-
ranging corruption investigation.
Erdogan has claimed that the recording is a
fake.
However, President Abdullah Gul, a political
ally of Erdogan's, was among those who
opposed the order though in a series of
tweets. "I hope this implementation won't last
long," he wrote.
From across the world last night, thousands of
Twitter users dispatched outraged - sometimes
hilarious - updates and photos touching upon
feelings of dismay, humor and resignation.
Interestingly, Erdogan, who doesn't follow
anyone, has amassed 4.17 million Twitter
followers and unleashed 3,043 tweets, the
Washington Post reports.
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