Turkey has blocked access to social media platform Instagram.
The move apparently came in reaction to the social media site removing posts by Turkish users expressing condolence for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the chief political leader of Palestinian organisation Hamas.
Without providing any further information, Turkey’s communications regulator BTK stated on its website: “Instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024.”
Users in Turkey can no longer refresh their Instagram feed.
On June 31 on X, Fahrettin Altun, the director of communications for the Turkish presidency, had accused the platform of “impeding people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr Haniyeh without giving any reason”.
“This is a very clear and obvious attempt at censure,” Altun said.
“We will continue to defend freedom of expression against these platforms, which have repeatedly shown that they serve the global system of exploitation and injustice. We will stand by our Palestinian brothers at every opportunity and on every platform.”
Filistin direniş hareketi Hamas'ın siyasi büro şefi İsmail Heniye, düşmanlarının asla anlayamayacağı bir tevazuyla şehadete yürüdü. Filistin davasının en büyük kahramanlarından biri olarak tarihe geçen şehidimize Allah’tan rahmet diliyoruz. İslam aleminin ve Filistin’in başı…
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) July 31, 2024
Around 50 million Turkish people use Instagram, out of the country’s 85 million total population, according to Turkish media.
There was no immediate comment from Instagram parent Meta Platforms on either the ban or Altun’s comments, Reuters reported.
Israel has promised to eliminate Hamas and its leadership in response to the attacks of October 7, where around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 people taken captive. During the assault, there were reported cases of rape and other gratuitous violence.
The killing of Ismail Haniyeh has seemed to have made a big impact in Turkey.
Following his death, President Recep Erdoğan declared a national day of morning “in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters”.
On July 31, Erdoğan condemned what he called the “perfidious assassination” of his close ally and “brother” Haniyeh.
“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, fallen in martyrdom,” Erdoğan wrote, denouncing what he termed “Zionist barbarity”.
The European Union is offering to make “illegal secret deals” with big tech companies to enable the censorship of social media, X boss Elon Musk has claimed. https://t.co/gm422vL2hU
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 12, 2024
Since the failed coup in 2016, Turkey has increasingly implemented censorship.
The country was ranked 158th out of 180 in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Rights groups routinely accuse the Turkish Government of trying to keep the press under control by imprisoning journalists, eliminating media outlets, overseeing the purchase of media brands by pro-government conglomerates and using regulatory authorities to exert financial pressure on news organisations.
According to Turkey’s leading press union, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), in the past 12 months, 69 journalists have been detained and 264 put on trial. Sixty-three were acquitted, while 36 verdicts against journalists resulted in a total of 55 years in prison.
Dutch politician Geert Wilders says Turkey should be expelled from Nato. Wilders cites close ties between the Turkish government and Hamas. https://t.co/h1sOHsQ5du
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 26, 2024
