Turkish authorities have started an investigation into social media posts by 50 people pertaining to Friday’s earthquake in eastern Turkey, Independent Turkish said on Monday.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched the investigation into what it calls provocative statements on the deadly natural disaster on social media, Independent Turkish said.

The suspects are accused of "spreading disquiet, fear and panic among people and insulting the Turkish state, the government and the state institutions, the news outlet said.

Turkey has detained two people over their social media posts criticising the state's capacity for emergency relief following an earthquake in Turkey's eastern province of Elazığ.

Meanwhile, the Turkish state agency for monitoring, regulating, and sanctioning radio and television broadcasts (RTÜK), will investigate provocative news about the tremor, according to Hürriyet daily.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit Elazığ province on Friday evening, killing at least 39 people and leaving over 1,500 injured, according to the latest information provided by Turkish authorities.

Some 2,945 damaged buildings have been identified and a total of 87 buildings were destroyed in the earthquake. Search and rescue operations continue in the region.

Meanwhile, thousands of Turks took to Twitter to criticise what they called the state's inability to provide rapid relief to earthquake victims and unpreparedness for natural disasters despite the allocation of a special tax, known as the earthquake tax.

The special tax was introduced after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in 1999 struck the northwestern province of Izmit, claiming the lives of 17,000 people.