While enjoying my first days in Detroit, I heard that Instagram is banned. Meta should be in a dilemma. It happened before; it will happen again. Some countries label some organizations as terrorists, some not. The platform has to make decisions… Here is the story:
Turkey has blocked access to Instagram following a controversy over the platform’s alleged censorship of posts related to the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The national communications authority, BTK, announced the decision, but no official reason or duration for the ban was provided[1][2][3][4][5].
The move came after Fahrettin Altun, the head of communications for the Turkish presidency, criticized Instagram for removing condolence messages about Haniyeh’s death, describing the action as “censorship” and an attempt to suppress freedom of expression[1][2][3]. Haniyeh, a prominent figure in Hamas, was killed in an attack in Tehran, which Hamas and Iran attributed to Israel[1][2][3][4].
This incident is part of a broader pattern of internet and social media restrictions in Turkey, where the government has previously blocked access to other platforms like Twitter and YouTube[5].
Citations:
1. Al Jazeera – Turkey Blocks Instagram After Censorship Row
2. CNBC – Turkey Blocks Instagram Amid Complaints of Censorship of Hamas Posts
3. Euronews – Turkey Blocks Instagram With No Reasons Given
4. The National News – Instagram Blocked in Turkey Without Explanation
5. ABC News – Turkey Blocks Access to Instagram in Response to Removal of Posts
6. Reddit – Turkey Just Banned Instagram, Suggest Me Ways Not To
7. Reuters – Turkey Blocks Access to Instagram, Platform Gives No Reason
8. Fortune – Instagram Blocked by Turkish Government Over Its Censorship of Eulogies for Killed Hamas Leader
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