Turkey’s PM: Twitter is ‘biased’
AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici


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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.