Twit boss Elon Musk has defended his move to “censor” Twitter in Turkey ahead of Sunday’s presidential election after receiving backlash for it.
Users were horrified when Twitter announced Friday it would restrict access in the country, without specifying the content or accounts affected.
Musk became particularly defensive after American blogger and journalist Matt Yglesias drew attention to the decision.
“Turkish government asked Twitter to censor its opponents just before an election and @elonmusk complied – should generate some interesting Twitter Files reports,” Yglesias tweeted.
Muck didn’t take the claim well and slammed Yglesias in the comments section of his post.
“Are your brains out, Yglesias?” The choice is to either throttle Twitter completely or restrict access to a few tweets. Which one do you want?’ he said.
Twitter is blocking content in Turkey ahead of the upcoming presidential election, apparently at the request of the Turkish president. Pictured meeting Musk and Erdogan in 2017
The company did not provide specific details on which tweets would be affected or who made the request, but President Erdogan previously blocked Twitter
Musk later said he would show “what the government in Turkey sent us,” but had not done so several hours later
Musk later said he would show “what the government in Turkey sent us,” but failed to do so several hours after the dig.
Twitter’s move comes as Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power for two decades, faces a strong challenge from Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People’s Party.
“Today, in response to a court case and to ensure Twitter remains available to the people of Turkey, we took action to restrict access to some content in Turkey,” the Global Government Affairs Twitter account tweeted. on Friday (Saturday, 6am in Turkey).
Twitter users were not pleased that Musk complied with the Turkish government’s request.
“So you’re helping Erdogan censor his opposition ahead of a close election.” “Good job,” wrote one user.
“@ElonMusk Shame on you! Shame on Twitter! Since when do you restrict individuals’ freedom of speech and side with tyrants? added one more.
“Nice of them to at least let us know it’s happening so we can keep in touch, instead of like the shadow interdictions and deceptions used to be done before,” wrote another indulgent online poster.
A poster depicting Turkey’s President is shown during Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s presidential election rally in Kizilay Meydani on Saturday as supporters wave flags
Twitter users were not pleased that Musk complied with the Turkish government’s request
Democratic MP Adam Schiff also criticized Musk’s actions.
“On the eve of a crucial election in Turkey, Twitter appears to be yielding to demands of the country’s autocratic ruler Erdoğan and is censoring speeches on the platform,” Schiff wrote.
Some users expressed sympathy for Musk given his business activities in the country.
“If he doesn’t comply with Turkish law, there will be ZERO Twitter in Turkey, and that’s a lot worse.” Elon’s best bet is to stick with notifying people and be transparent about what happens. ALL other social media places do that, they just don’t tell you about it.”
It’s not the first time the social media platform has been throttled, however.
In February, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered Twitter to be suspended for 12 hours after the country was hit by devastating earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people.
Erdogan’s government blocked the social media platform to fight what it called “disinformation,” although it was widely believed that doing so was the government’s way of diverting attention from criticism of its handling of the natural disaster.
Supporters attend Erdogan’s latest campaign rally in Istanbul, Turkey
Democratic MP Adam Schiff also criticized Musk’s actions
Twitter users were dissatisfied with the lack of transparency that Twitter has shown in its actions to comply with Erdogan’s request
Critics called the move “ignorant,” and Kilicdaroglu said at the time, “We know everything you’re trying to hide.”
‘[President Tayyip Erdogan’s government] It loses its mind and… the result is that cries for help are less heard. “We know everything you’re trying to hide,” he said.
The block was picked up by Netblocks, a company that tracks connectivity around the world.
“Real-time network data shows Twitter restricted in Turkey; “The filtering is applied at major ISPs and comes as the public trusts the service after a series of deadly earthquakes,” it said at the time.
The Twitter ban also prompted an angry reaction from opposition DEVA party leader Ali Babacan, a former economy minister and Erdogan ally.
“How can Twitter be blocked on a day when communication saves lives?” What ignorance that is,” Babacan said at the time.
Erdogan’s communications director Fahrettin Altun said Twitter cooperated at the meeting and pledged to support Turkey’s efforts, and officials look forward to working together “over the coming days and weeks”.
“Disinformation is the common enemy of humanity and a serious threat to democracy, social peace and national security,” he said at the time of the disaster.
Human Rights Watch, a US-based human rights organization, has called on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to be more transparent about moderating content.
Just months ago, President Erdogan blocked Twitter for 12 hours in February after being criticized for his government’s slow response to the devastating earthquake
Erdogan and Musk met, most recently at the 2022 World Cup
The ruling Islamist-rooted party and its right-wing allies are in danger of losing parliament
“As election night approaches, it is imperative that social media platforms and the internet remain accessible so that the public can follow the work of independent election observers and report on the vote count,” Human Rights Watch said Friday.
“Given the sad state of Turkey’s mainstream media, the integrity of Turkey’s elections depends on it.”
The organization stressed the importance of ensuring accessibility to social media during the election period.
They said it allows the public to follow the work of independent election observers and be kept up to date with vote counting.
Erdogan and Musk met at the 2022 World Cup. They also met in 2017, shortly after former US President Donald Trump took office.
SpaceX also signed a deal with Turkey in 2021 to launch its first communications satellite.
On Sunday, voters will go to either re-elect Erdogan or oust him in favor of Kilicdaroglu – Turkey’s main opposition candidate and leader of the centre-left Republican People’s Party.
Erdogan has vowed to respect the result of tomorrow’s election as opinion polls show challenger Kilicdaroglu has a slight lead.
The incumbent president faces the greatest challenge he has ever faced in his two-decade stronghold, but has dismissed speculation that he would not relinquish power in the event of defeat as “very ridiculous”.
In an interview with more than a dozen Turkish broadcasters, Erdogan said he came to power through democracy and will act in accordance with the democratic process.
“If our nation decides to make such a different decision, we will do exactly what democracy demands and there is nothing else to do,” he said.
Erdogan said on Saturday he viewed the elections as a “celebration of democracy for the future of our country”.
THE CENSORSHIP OF TWITTER
China: Twitter has been blocked since 2009. The Chinese government exercises tight controls over online information and has implemented the Great Firewall, which blocks access to various foreign websites and social media platforms, including Twitter.
Russia: Twitter has been pressured by the Russian government to remove certain content and accounts. In 2021, Russia slowed Twitter traffic and threatened a total ban on the platform if it failed to comply with calls to remove content related to protests and illegal activities.
India: Twitter had been in conflict with the Indian government over content moderation. In 2021, the Indian government requested the removal of certain tweets criticizing the way farmers were handling protests. Twitter initially complied with some requests but later restored the accounts and tweets, citing concerns about free speech.
United States: Before Musk took over as CEO, Twitter had a content moderation policy in place.
After the attack on the Capitol in 2021, Twitter suspended then-President Trump’s account over concerns about the risk of inciting violence.
The ban was subsequently lifted in November 2022 following Musk’s takeover of the platform.