Screenshot taken from the address to the nation by President Erdoğan, shared on the president's official Twitter account. Rocked by a devastating earthquake on February 6, citizens in Turkey now also have to deal with censorship measures imposed by the state. This time the authorities have avoided introducing a media gag order, a practice often resorted to in times of crisis. Instead, there have been plenty of direct and indirect threats, including by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, temporary throttling of Twitter and TikTok, as well as detentions and criminal proceedings against social media users. There are also reports of journalists being detained and targeted for covering the wreckage. Many ask whether restrictions are a futile attempt to tone down the criticism of the state following its response to the earthquake-affected areas. But to the leader of the opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, it does not matter because, “If there in one person responsible for this, it is Erdoğan.” In a video message Kılıçdaroğlu shared on Twitter on February 8 from one of the earthquake-hit provinces, he said he had instructed all CHP mayors to push through any bureaucratic hurdles and “if it takes getting arrested for providing people with blankets and bread, then so be it.” The video address prompted the trending #GelsinlerTutuklasinlar (“Let them come and arrest”) used by Kılıçdaroğlu himself for every recovery or aid work update carried out by CHP and the public. A day before Kılıçdaroğlu's address, on February 7, Erdoğan addressed the nation from the State Information Coordination Center. After sharing the most recent updates, including an announcement of a three-month state of emergency across all ten provinces hit by the earthquake, the president who is facing his toughest election come May 14, also lashed out at those criticizing the government's response. “We follow those who intend to set our people against each other with fake news and distortions. This is not the day of debate. When the day comes, we will open the notebook we keep,” Erdoğan said, adding the prosecutors were identifying those who attempted to “cause social chaos through inhumane methods and are taking necessary measures.” News of detentions followed promptly. On February 7, academic Özgün Emre Koç was detained on suspicion of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” after tweeting the following: Sadece Hatay'da yerleşik olan kışlalarda binlerce asker var. Komando tugayı var, her yere ulaşabilecek mekanize birlikler var, alay komutanlıkları var… Hiçbir şey yapmasalar moloz taşır, halka battaniye çorba dağıtır moral verirlerdi. Yaptırmadınız. Hainsiniz. — Özgün Emre Koç (@ozgunemrek) February 7, 2023 There are thousands of soldiers in the barracks located in Hatay alone. There is a commando brigade, there are mechanized units that can reach anywhere, there are regimental commands … Even if they did nothing, they could have cleared the rubble, distributed soup to the people and boosted people's morale. But you did not do it. You are traitors. Hatay is among the worst-hit provinces where the absence of search and rescue operations was heavily criticized. Academic and cyber-rights activist Yaman Akdeniz tweeted in response to Koç's detention: Özgün Emre Koç bu tweeti attıktan yaklaşık 7 saat sonra Vatan emniyete ifade vermeye götürüldü. Hatay'a ulaşamayan devlet tweet atanların peşinde. Eleştiri kaldıramayanlar ise oturdukları yerden siyasete devam ediyorlar. https://t.co/7uZovvLO5L — Yaman Akdeniz (@cyberrights) February 7, 2023 Özgün Emre Koç was taken for questioning to the Istanbul Police Department seven hours after tweeting this tweet. The state, which is unable to reach Hatay, is after those who tweet. Those who cannot handle criticism in the meantime, keep doing politics from where they sit. Koç was released the following day. In a tweet, he wrote, “I am back. Thank you to everyone who supported me. I and others, as well as millions, will keep speaking the truth. But we, too, took a note in our notebooks.” On February 10, a member of Turkey's Workers Party youth branch was sentenced to house arrest for his social media posts. Tweeting about the arrest, the Party said, “Handing a house arrest to a young person at a time when he can participate in solidarity activities in the city he is currently living in or in a disaster area reflects the nature of this leadership!” According to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), a local non-profit offering legal aid to media representatives, investigations were also launched against two journalists — Merdan Yanardağ and Enver Aysever — on February 7, as a result of journalists’ tweets about the disaster relief efforts.