Turkey has blocked online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the Turkish telecommunications watchdog said on Saturday, citing a law allowing it to ban access to websites deemed obscene or a threat to national security. Turkey's communications ministry said Wikipedia was attempting to run a "smear campaign" against Turkey, saying some articles purported that Ankara was coordinating with militant groups, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. 'Censor Content'A block on all language editions of the Wikipedia website was detected at 8.00am (1.00am ET) on Saturday, monitoring group Turkey Blocks said on its website. Monitoring groups have accused Turkey of blocking access to social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, particularly in the aftermath of militant attacks. But technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional, aimed in part at stopping the spread of militant images and propaganda.

Source: Egypt Independent April 29, 2017 17:03 UTC