Fighting a corruption scandal and mounting frustrations from his citizens, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan went on the offensive with a statement denouncing Twitter on Saturday.
The Turkish government blocked the social media site on Thursday, prompting outcry from the international community and rebellious workarounds from Turkish citizens. As Twitter and international groups called Turkey out for limiting free speech and human rights, Erdogan’s office responded with a statement claiming the block had been implemented as a “protection measure:”
Twitter has been used as a means to carry out systematic character assassinations by circulating illegally acquired recordings, fake and fabricated records of wiretapping…It is difficult to comprehend Twitter's indifference and its biased and prejudiced stance. We believe that this attitude is damaging to the brand image of the company in question and creates an unfair and inaccurate impression of our country. [Reuters]
So, to recap: Turkey wants Twitter to respect its brand, because otherwise countries might get the wrong impression and assume Turkey's citizens are dissatisfied with the current government. Or something like that.
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