Erdogan is lying about his social media crackdown

Published July 2, 2020 12:00am ET



President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is furious. After his daughter announced the birth of her fourth child, some on social media reportedly directed insults at her and the president’s son-in-law. “Do you see why we oppose social media like YouTube, Twitter, Netflix, et cetera?” Erdogan reportedly told members of his party in a televised address, referring to the allegedly insulting tweets. “It is imperative that these channels are brought under control.”

This is rich, given not only that Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party have funded an army of trolls to hurl vile invectives at critics, but that Erdogan has signaled his approval of the tactic by attending the wedding of his favorite internet troll.

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