Turkey blocks Instagram following alleged removal of posts on late Hamas leader

Turkey has blocked access to social media platform Instagram on Aug. 1 following alleged censorship concerns involving the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

According to the Associated Press (AP News), the country's internet regulatory authority, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, did not officially provide a reason for the move.

"This is censorship, pure and simple": Turkish presidential communications director

Access to the platform owned by U.S. technology company Meta was reportedly blocked after it was accused of deleting posts by users in Turkey expressing their condolences over Haniyeh's death.

Haniyeh, who was the political leader of Hamas, was killed in Iran while attending the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new president. Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for Haniyeh's death, who did not deny it.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 1, Turkey Head of Communications, Fahrettin Altun said that he "strongly condemns" Instagram and accused it of "actively preventing" users from sharing Haniyeh-related posts.

"This is censorship, pure and simple," he wrote.

Our dear brother Ismail Haniyeh, political bureau chief of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, has faced death with the kind of humility that his enemies can never understand. He is one of the great heroes and a martyr for the Palestinian cause. May God bless his soul.…

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) July 31, 2024

In a later post on X on Aug. 2, Altun reiterated Turkey's commitment to "peace and stability in the international arena" amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

"Turkey once again proved that it is a diplomatic heavyweight with special partnerships with various countries around the world," he wrote.

Altun also highlighted that the country will continue maintaining "open channels of dialogue in all forms" of international conflict.

In this period of escalating tensions in the region, Türkiye continues to contribute to peace and stability in the international arena under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Türkiye once again proved that it is a diplomatic heavyweight with special partnerships…

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) August 2, 2024

Mixed reactions from netizens

Instagram, which reportedly has more than 50 million users in Turkey, has not commented on the incident, reported AP News.

According to Al Jazeera, affected Instagram users had gone on X on Aug. 2 and said that they could not refresh their Instagram feed.

One user, Yaman Akdeniz, claimed that the platform's access had been blocked at around 3am (Turkey time) after an "administrative order" was issued.

In a post on Aug. 2, he said: "We start the day with the access blocking and censorship of the Instagram platform. The reason is national security and protection of public order."

Güne Instagram platformunun erişime engellenmesi ve sansürlenmesiyle başlıyoruz. Gerekçesi milli güvenlik ve kamu düzeninin korunması. / Access to Instagram platform has been blocked from Turkey as of this morning. https://t.co/TSppZrQQ3w

— Yaman Akdeniz (@cyberrights) August 2, 2024

The block also elicited other reactions from netizens, with some mocking former Instagram users in Turkey.

A meme went viral on X in a depiction of an overly packed train reportedly referring to the influx of old Instagram users.

It wrote: "X when Turks wake up to find that Instagram is blocked."

Top photos via Canva