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.
Countries currently blocking Twitter:
China,#Turkey#TwitterisBlockedinTurkey
http://t.co/s7JxIPYYUSpic.twitter.com/g3Nkpi46HQ
- Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett)March 21, 2014
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.
The move has backfired
Well that's backfiring. The whole world is watching, Turkey.#TwitterisblockedinTurkey#İnternetimeDokunmapic.twitter.com/Am4J52HhOK
- Anis (@TheBlogPirate)March 21, 2014
Even though Turkey's Twitter was disabled, the hashtag #TwitterisblockedinTurkey went viral as Twitter is still accessible via the site's SMS service, which allows Turks to text in a tweet.
Dear#Turkishpeople, this is how you can tweet anyway:http://t.co/5DiSWOcJv2-- YOU'RE GREAT, love you!<3#twitterisblockedinturkey
- Sophie Callies (@sophMTL)March 21, 2014
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.
The country banned from tweeting is also where users enjoy twitter most#twitterisblockedinturkeypic.twitter.com/4cZYa2dSBe
- beko (@bekirbasarozer)March 21, 2014
Interestingly, Erdogan, who doesn't
follow anyone, has amassed 4.17 million Twitter followers and unleashed 3,043 tweets, the Washington Post reports.
Erdogan lässt Twitter in der Türkei verhaften.#TwitterisblockedinTurkeypic.twitter.com/TM8iX2U9xk
- Özgürcük (@RamiOzgu)March 21, 2014
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".
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