Turkey Tries to Turn Off Twitter

In a frantic effort to keep a lid on dissent, Turkey’s political leaders are blaming an outside agitator — Twitter — and they’re desperately trying to shut it down. The real problem seems to be insider information on corruption in those tweets, though, and not the micro-blogging platform itself. And work-arounds make a shut-off attempt futile. Twitter can be accessed through other sites and even by SMS text messaging.

More:

“Turkey: Twitter allows ‘character assassination, ‘” Suzan Fraser, AP via Fort Worth Star‑Telegram

“Twitter May Have Exposed Government Corruption, So Turkey Is Banning Twitter,” Sara Morrison, The Wire

“Turkey blocks use of Twitter after prime minister attacks social media site,” Kevin Rawlinson, The Guardian

“Turkey’s Government Can’t Stop Twitter,” Heather Timmons, The Atlantic

“How Turkey Still Tweets Despite Twitter Ban,” Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press

“Turkey’s prime minister is finding it hard to put Twitter back in the bottle,” Heather Timmons, Quartz

“Turkey Moves To Block Twitter At The IP Level,” Ryan Lawler, TechCrunch

“Turkey bans Twitter but users can still tweet via SMS,” Mariella Moon, Engadget

UPDATES:

“Twitter to Turkey: ‘Political speech is among the most important speech,’” Sarah Gray, Salon

Turkey blocks access to YouTube amid ‘national security’ concerns,” Constanze Letsch and Dominic Rushe, The Guardian

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-j6l

Image (“Turkey Turns Off Twitter, after Franois-Léon Benouville”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Tags: cell phones, censorship, dissent, Erdogan, social media, turkey, Twitter