Lagatar24 Desk
Ankara, Turkey: On Friday, Turkey’s national communications authority, BTK, blocked access to the popular social media platform Instagram without providing any explanation for the action or indicating how long the restriction would last.
The announcement, made through a post on the BTK’s website, simply stated that “instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024.” This sudden move has left many Turkish users unable to refresh their Instagram feeds, an issue confirmed by AFP journalists.
This development follows accusations of censorship directed at Instagram by Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency’s communications director. Altun criticized the Meta-owned platform for allegedly preventing users from posting condolence messages for Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Hamas, who was killed in Tehran in an attack attributed to Israel.
“This is a very clear and obvious attempt at censure,” Altun expressed on the X platform.
Ismail Haniyeh was a significant figure and a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His death has led to heightened tensions and scrutiny of social media platforms within Turkey.
Turkey has a substantial Instagram user base, with over 50 million registered users out of a population of 85 million. The blocking of Instagram has sparked a wave of reactions on other social media platforms, including X. Memes and humorous posts quickly surfaced, highlighting the public’s frustration and disbelief.
For instance, a meme showing a crowded metro station with the tagline: “X when Turks wake up to find that Instagram is blocked” gained popularity. Another user, “CringeOfMaster,” wrote, “Instagram is blocked in Turkey, life is over,” alongside a picture of a grieving man. Others humorously questioned where Instagram users would now share their edited photos.
This incident is not unprecedented in Turkey, which has a history of blocking access to social media sites. Between April 2017 and January 2020, Wikipedia was inaccessible due to articles linking the presidency to extremism, a move that shocked many given the extensive information that became unavailable.
Additionally, in April, Facebook owner Meta suspended its Threads social network in Turkey after authorities decided to prevent it from sharing information with Instagram.
The current situation remains fluid, with many awaiting further details and the potential impact on social media usage in Turkey.
