Twitter down in Turkiye amid criticisms over Recep Tayyip Erdogan govt's response to deadly earthquake

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By  India Blooms News Service   Feb 09, 2023

Istanbul/IBNS: Microblogging platform Twitter became inaccessible on major Turkish mobile providers on Wednesday amid an increased online criticism over the governments response to deadly earthquake that devastated the country this week.

According to reports, Twitter could be accessed only using VPN services that disguise a users location.

The netblocks.org social media monitor told AFP that Twitter was being restricted on multiple internet providers in Turkey.

Turkish police have reportedly detained more than a dozen people since Mondays earthquake over social media posts that criticised how President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government has been dealing with the disaster.

The toll from the devastating quake in both Turkiye and Syria has surged over 11,000. In Turkiye alone, 8,574 people are dead.

For two days and nights since the 7.8 magnitude quake on Monday, thousands of searchers are working in freezing temperatures to find those still alive under debris.

Howver, Turkish social media have been filled with posts by people complaining about a lack of search and rescue efforts in their provinces.

While there has been no official statement from the Turkish government over the Twitter service being down, repeated warnings have been issued over spreading misinformation.