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Erdogan’s quixotic battle against social media

The Turkish prime minister’s battles with Twitter and YouTube undermine his government’s international credibility.
Protesters hold placards depicting Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as a cat during a demostration in front of  the Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) in Ankara April 2, 2014. Riot police set up barricades as Turks continued to protest, demanding a partial recount in national polls that saw Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party sweep the electoral map. The placards read, "cat enters the transformer unit", referring to a statement by Energy Minister Taner Yildiz blaming cats for the reason behind the
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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not rest until the Internet is fully under government control in Turkey and social media under his feet. He's now signaling his intent to use the strong support his Justice and Development Party (AKP) received in the March 30 local elections to this end. His methods, however, are bound to be interpreted in the West as steps that further erode democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.

Not bothering to dwell on the irony it entails, his government is also now using alleged insults against Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish republic revered by secularists and opponents of the AKP, to keep the government’s recent YouTube ban in place, despite a court ruling ordering its lifting.

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