Tag: presidential
Market Extra: Turkey ETF ends 8% lower as presidential election heads for runoff
Twitter joins Turkey’s presidential debate, censoring posts ahead of election
As Turkey prepares for a presidential election on Sunday that may have ricocheting effects on populations worldwide, Twitter is taking on its own criticism, restricting certain content related to the election to reportedly keep the site functional in preparation for a predicted flood of posts — but onlookers are waving censorship red flags.
“In response to legal process and to ensure Twitter remains available to the people of Turkey, we have taken action to restrict access to some content in Turkey today,” wrote the company’s Global Government Affairs account in a series of tweets on Friday night. “We have informed the account holders of this action in line with our policy. This content will remain available in the rest of the world.”
By Saturday, users were calling out the platform’s choice in cries of free speech censorship.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded to the immediate notes of concern in his own way, taking to Twitter to engage with users after the announcement. Musk prompted more worry, however, implying that the Turkish government had reached out to Twitter about the upcoming election in a reply to a user’s request for the reasoning behind the block. Musk wrote, “We could post what the government in Turkey sent us. Will do.”
Musk also responded to Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias, who accused the CEO and his platform of acquiescing to Erdoğan’s censorship demands, tweeting: “Did your brain fall out of your head, Yglesias? The choice is have Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets. Which one do you want?”
The hotly-contested election may decide the fate of the country’s longest-held incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power for the last 21 years. Erdoğan’s alignment with Turkey’s conservative and Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) has solidified his presence as an authoritarian and nationalist figure.
In 2016, sections of the Turkish military, joined by citizens galvanized by social media coverage of the news, attempted a government coup to unseat Erdoğan, but the deadly attempt failed to remove him from power. The country’s alignment with Russia has recently pushed Turkey out of favor with other global power holders, while at home the leader is bribing potential voters with the promises of free gas and cell data.
This year, as Erdoğan faces off against his parliamentary-focused opponent Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish citizens are also voting with recent natural disasters (and the government’s response) in mind, after a series of devastating earthquakes killed more than 50,000 people and destroyed millions of buildings in central and northern Turkey. At the time of this writing, Kılıçdaroğlu is narrowly polling ahead of Erdoğan.
At the same time, human rights organizations have warned voters and onlookers of the potential for nationwide censorship by Erdoğan’s government, with some warning of a widespread digital effort to undermine the election’s outcome.
“The Turkish government has accelerated its efforts to enforce censorship and tighten control over social media and independent online news sites ahead of this election,” wrote Human Rights Watch senior technology researcher, Deborah Brown, in a report on Turkey’s history of oppression and a rise in digital censorship tools. “The vote will test whether voters in Turkey can rely on social media for independent news and to express their views on the election and its outcome, despite government efforts to put companies under its heel.”
Turkish Presidential Candidate Quits Race After Release of Alleged Deepfake
The former school headteacher and longtime member of the Republican People’s party (CHP) said an alleged sex tape circulating online was a deepfake, using footage taken from “an Israeli porn site.” He added: “If I had such images of myself, they were taken secretly in the past. But I do not have such an image, no such sound recording. This is not my private life, it’s slander. It’s not real.”
The high-profile deployment of deepfake videos has already hit Turkey’s 45-day election cycle, after Erdogan played an alleged deepfake that claimed to show banned Kurdish militants declaring their support for Kilicdaroglu at a pre-election rally last weekend. “What I have seen in these last 45 days, I have not seen in 45 years,” said Ince.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Opponents to a US Digital Dollar Include Several US Presidential Hopefuls
Some officials at the Federal Reserve have expressed doubt over the need for one, especially for use by everyday Americans. The Fed has also said it would want approval from Congress before moving forward with a digital dollar. But that hasn’t stopped the relatively niche issue from emerging as a flash point for individuals eyeing a presidential run.
The idea of a digital dollar has already faced backlash from Wall Street and other banks, because lenders are worried about it acting as a direct competitor to private bank deposits. Digital-asset companies like Circle Internet Financial LLC that issue stablecoins — a form of cryptocurrency traditionally tied to reserve assets like the US dollar or gold and that offers similar features to a retail digital dollar — have also pushed back against certain CBDCs. Circle’s Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte said he’d be opposed to a digital dollar if it allows the Fed to control users’ access to funds, compromises privacy or disrupts a two-tiered banking and payments system. “I’ve gone as far as saying that’s the version that is un-American,” he said in an interview. In a report published last year in response to a Federal Reserve discussion paper, Circle also warned that a digital dollar could “destabilize” the banking sector.
In Congress, Republicans on Capitol Hill have introduced legislation to ban such direct-to-consumer CBDCs, saying they could be used by the federal government to surveil US citizens.
Proponents of a CBDC have argued that it could offer real benefits, including making payments — especially cross-border payments — faster and ensuring the dollar’s dominance in the global economy. It could be particularly useful for settling certain financial-market transactions, such as interbank transfers, some Fed officials have said. The government has also indicated it would prefer to have private-sector intermediaries offer accounts and facilitate CBDC payments, rather than taking on that role itself. Supporters have argued it can be tailored in a way to protect consumer privacy, which the Fed has also said is critical if it decides to move forward.
Bloomberg also summarized the analysis of one political consultant specializing in cryptocurrency. “In addition to the potential appeal to libertarian voters and to constituents in banking and crypto, pushing back against a U.S. digital dollar can provide a relatively safe avenue for candidates to attract votes from conspiracy theorists who have rallied around the anti-CBDC movement.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.