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Turkey Detains Over 400 Over ‘Provocative’ Coronavirus Posts

  Turkish authorities have detained 402 people over “baseless and provocative” social media posts about the coronavirus pandemic, the interior ministry said on Monday. Advertisement … Continue reading Turkey Detains Over 400 Over ‘Provocative’ Coronavirus Posts


A map of Turkey used to illustrate the story.
A map of Turkey used to illustrate the story.
A map of Turkey used to illustrate the story.
A map of Turkey used to illustrate the story.

 

Turkish authorities have detained 402 people over “baseless and provocative” social media posts about the coronavirus pandemic, the interior ministry said on Monday.

The official said some of the posts in question included claims that a lockdown would last longer than all-day weekend curfews announced by the government and accusations that authorities were lying about the number of deaths.

“In the past 42 days, 6,362 social media accounts have been analysed, and 855 suspects have been confirmed while 402 have been caught,” the ministry tweeted.

The figure is separate from the detention of 410 people over similar claims at the end of March, a ministry official clarified to AFP.

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The government has taken measures to limit the spread of the virus including shutting schools and restaurants, and ordering weekend curfews as long as it is necessary.

Turkey has confirmed over 2,800 deaths from more than 110,000 cases of coronavirus that have been recorded.