The Turkish government’s crackdown on social media has continued unabated since it successfully fended off a military coup attempt earlier this summer. The interior ministry confirmed on Saturday that it is currently investigating 10,000 people who are suspected of using their social media accounts to support terrorism, Reuters reports. The news was greeted with alarm from Western governments, human rights groups, and other watchdog organizations who argue that allegations of terrorism could be used as a pretense to target government critics.
The investigation is part of President Erdogan’s broader efforts to purge opponents from positions of power and quash dissent in Turkey, which has been in a state of emergency since the abortive coup. In the past six months, dozens of media outlets have been shuttered, 140 journalists have been arrested, and tens of thousands of public officials have been removed from their posts.
Overall, 3,710 people have been detained by police for questioning in that period. Of that group, 1,656 were formally arrested on charges ranging from provoking hatred among people to disseminating terrorist propaganda on social media, according to ABC News.
Turkey was targeted in a series of attacks and bombings this year that were perpetrated by the Islamic State or Kurdish militants. It has a history of shutting down social media and cutting off in times of political unrest and in the aftermath of terrorist attacks, though the government maintains that the outages occur as a result of traffic spikes.
Watchdog groups state that internet access is throttled regularly by the Turkish government in order to limit protests and restrict the flow of terrorist propaganda.
Featured Image: AP
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