The Turkey coup to unseat Erdogan has predictably resulted in social media censorship as the Turkish government and military start firing shots. The two major bridges leading in and out of Istanbul, Turkey have been shut down and multiple sources are reporting organized military action and shots fired within the capital. The Turkish government has ordered telecom companies in the region to block social media sites like Facebook and Twitter at the DNS level. Facebook and Twitter have been blocked first; however, Private Internet Access has confirmed that Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, and Reddit are still accessible (for now). Some ISPs are also blocking YouTube. While users can switch to use Google’s DNS, it is recommended to prepare a paid VPN to retain open access to the Internet from within Turkey.

Erdogan Coup Leads to Internet Censorship

The Turkish government has censored the two most popular social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, to obscure the flow of first hand accounts of what happens. When a government’s existence is threatened, that’s when the propaganda machines start churning for dear life. Already, there are conflicting reports from many Turkish sources that Erdogan has been arrested, is safe on a plane, is safe on a base, or giving many statements. For live updates on the situation in Turkey, we suggest that you use the Reddit Live thread.

Use a VPN to get past Turkey’s Facebook and Twitter Blocks

The sad fact of the matter is this: It doesn’t matter which side wins, there will likely continue to be violations to the Open Internet rights of Turkish citizens. After all, the United Nations, recently declared that freedom of expression on the Internet is a basic human right. The current lack of access to social media, even for the purpose of sharing updates to the outside world, is the Turkish government’s blatant slap in the face of Internet rights.

The sad fact of the matter is this: It doesn’t matter which side wins, there will likely continue to be violations to the Open Internet rights of Turkish citizens. Hopefully, the calls for a true “rule of law” in Turkey will be heard, manifested, and then the Internet rights of Turkey’s residents will be properly respected. Until then, using a VPN is the only way to ensure your private internet access remains uncensored.

Featured image from /u/TheRootsCrew.