By Ishaan Tharoor analysisIn the age of the smartphone, the coup attempt in Turkey perhaps didn't stand a chance. In Turkey's deeply polarised political landscape, conspiracy theories whirled around Twitter that the coup was in fact an attempt by Erdogan to further expand his control. Some on social media thought the history-minded leader would see his arrival in Istanbul as akin to that of the victorious Ottoman sultan Mehmed the conqueror. He issued a message via Facetime, broadcast by a private TV network, urging the Turkish public to rally to his cause. Other military units had massed at major bridges and public buildings in Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, and Ankara, the nation's capital.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 17, 2016 00:00 UTC