President Recep Tayyip Erdogan portrayed social media as one of the main threats to democracy over the weekend. On Dec. 11, Erdogan reiterated calls to “protect” Turks against “lies and disinformation” on social media. In a video message to a government-organized communications conference in Istanbul, Erdogan said, “We will not, under any circumstances, allow perception management operations to devalue the truth or cover it up with lies.”
Within 24 hours of Erdogan's comments, Turkish police raided the homes of four local YouTubers in the southern city of Antalya.
