US News

Celebs condemn Turkey’s PM for Twitter ban

Hollywood is getting behind the hashtag #TwitterisblockedinTurkey.

Russell Crowe, Mia Farrow and Elijah Wood are among the celebs to tweet their objections to the Turkish government’s crackdown on the social media messaging service.

“Turkey has banned Twitter? That is a terrible decision. I don’t understand it,” Crowe tweeted.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blocked access to Twitter and vowed to “eradicate” it after recordings implicating him in a bribery scandal flooded social media. Erdogan’s Twitter smackdown sparked outrage around the globe, with #TwitterisblockedinTurkey blowing up.

“Is Twitter genuinely blocked in Turkey? If so, this is shameful and scary,” tweeted Wood.

Meanwhile, Farrow spread news of a way around the ban: “Hey there friends in Turkey! You can stay on twitter via VPN and Hotspot.”

Erdogan, who is trying to quell the corruption scandal ahead of key local elections, blew off condemnation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other countries.

“The international community can say this, can say that. I don’t care at all. Everyone will see how powerful the Republic of Turkey is,” he said.

Turkey’s Internet watchdog has blocked access to YouTube in the past, but this is the first ban on Twitter, which was used to spark government protests last year.

Some users have figured out how to circumvent the ban using the site’s SMS service. On Friday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, a political ally of Erdogan’s, was among those to defy the ban.