Immediately after the earthquake, Twitter Apilyons Theverge served as an essential lifeline for rescue teams to coordinate operations. It also helped trapped survivors get in touch with their loved ones and to seek help.
But on Wednesday, the government restricted access to Twitter. That prompted outrage from both the media and opposition leaders.
Turkey’s Twitter Cutoff Harmed Rescue
Turkey’s Twitter Apilyons Theverge cutoff harmed rescue efforts in the aftermath of two massive earthquakes that killed thousands and destroyed entire towns. It impacted access to live updates from eyewitness accounts, who had been sharing videos and photos showing the scale of the destruction.
The social media platform is vital in organizing aid, as first-hand accounts help emergency relief personnel and researchers assess the damage, match aid to needs and coordinate international rescue efforts.
Monday’s Quakes
Immediately after Monday’s quakes, hundreds of thousands of people tweeted their appeal for help and shared photographs and videos that captured the destruction. The tweets were also crucial for search and rescue teams as they sought survivors under the rubble.
Turkish Government
In the past, the Turkish government has often restricted access to social media during national emergencies and security issues. But this is the first time that it’s impact rescue efforts, according to Internet monitoring company NetBlocks.
Rolling Power Outages
Twitter Apilyons Theverge is an invaluable tool for people living in disaster zones. It’s a way to get in touch with loved ones, report rolling power outages and share other important information.
Turkey is in a seismically active region and has a history of devastating tremors. It was hit hard by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 1999, killing 18,000 people.
But it has been years since the country has suffered a major quake.
The quake, which hit near the city of Gaziantep. Came nine hours after another temblor struck Syria, just north of Turkey’s border with the country.
Long History of Cooperation
Both countries have a long history of cooperation on quake relief, which has helped improve their often-strained ties. Greece was among the first to offer aid, despite its long-standing territorial dispute with Turkey over the Aegean Sea.
As the 72-hour window closed, rescuers from around the world. Raced against time to search for survivors following the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. But a cold weather system moving across the region made finding victims even more difficult.
Turkish City Hit
In Gaziantep, the Turkish city hit by Monday’s quake, rescue workers were busy with the day’s work. Huge piles of debris littered the streets, as they searched for signs of people in the rubble.
The quake was one of the most powerful to rock Turkey in decades, and its damage was widespread. Thousands died, dozens of buildings collapse and vital pipelines were disrupte by the disaster.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
A number of journalists, social activists and academics who were tracking the disaster and its aftermath were affected by Twitter’s cutoff on Wednesday. The restriction came as a response to growing public anger over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government’s. Slow response to the earthquake.
A network monitoring company called NetBlocks report that traffic filtering was apply at the internet service provider level, which prevented Twitter users. From reaching the social media site. “While all rescue teams are communicating with Twitter, it’s a good idea to turn off the site to silence dissent,” prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli wrote on his account.
The Twitter Apilyons Theverge government has a long history. of muzzling free speech and also clamping down on journalists, human rights defenders and also political dissidents. Moreover, with May’s elections approaching, critics say this is an added incentive to clamp down on social media.
Global Short-Form Social Media Platform
Twitter, a global short-form social media platform, was blocked for many Turkish users on Wednesday afternoon. It sparked a furor as it had been used as the. primary means of communication for relatives of victims, survivors and aid campaigners after Monday’s earthquake.
Final Words:
The restrictions are reportedly the result of an “intervention” by authorities. They aimed to quash what the government described as online “disinformation” about the earthquakes, according to global internet monitoring site NetBlocks.
The restrictions are the latest attempt by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to limit public access to the Internet, a move that was recently enshrined in law through a “disinformation” law passed last year. The law opens people who spread false information to prosecution, and also places heavy fines on platforms that do not promptly take down flagged content or provide information about their users.