Since April 2017, access to Wikipedia has been blocked in Turkey (Law 5651). This decision was made by the Information Technology and Communications Council. The reason is the mention in the wiki articles about the support of terrorism at the state level – sponsoring by Turkey of some terrorist organizations.

The court recognized that the publication of such data is an attempt to manipulate public opinion. They tried to challenge the blocking in the Ankara court, but the claim was rejected. The judge explained that the “ban” of Wikipedia will last until the articles objectionable to the Turkish authorities are removed.

The Turkish opposition condemned this measure. MP Eren Erdem even said that such an act puts his country on a par with North Korea.

However, the Turks have found ways to access their favorite online encyclopedia. In particular, a copy of the Turkish version was created using IPFS technology and pirated “mirrors” of two versions were made – Turkish and English. In the Russian version, it was impossible to read Wikipedia in Turkey, except perhaps through a proxy.

This is not the first case of blocking online services in Turkey at the state level. In 2016, such a measure was temporarily applied to Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook.

As a result, the matter went to trial in the constitutional court. And the high court sided with Wiki! On January 15, 2020, Wikipedia was unlocked. But this does not mean that at the time of your trip to Turkey it will not be blocked again, because the claims of the authorities have not gone away.