Internet censorship watchdog TurkeyBlocks reports that Cumhuriyet, Turkey’s oldest mainstream newspaper, has been blocked selectively by some of the country’s largest ISPs (Internet Service Providers) since midday through into the late evening.
Network analysis data from TurkeyBlocks is backed up by widespread user complaints on social media service Twitter.
Access issues were first reported by Uydunet users, and subsequently users of other ISPs including mobile provider Vodafone, while the website remains accessible and fast via TTNet. The pattern would be consistent with previous blocks both temporary and semi-permanent including Twitter and Facebook.
Cumhuriyet has since confirmed network issues, which they put down to state censorship following speech critical of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
We contacted two of the ISPs, both of whom refused to comment on the incident. D8 News is not aware of any related court orders demanding such a ban.
