The NetBlocks internet observatory has collected technical evidence of the blocking all editions of Wikipedia in Venezuela as of 12 January 2019. The restrictions are implemented by the largest telecommunications provider CANTV.

The study comprising 60,000 metrics has also identified a major network disruption affecting telecommunications infrastructure, coinciding with the other restrictions, that will have impacted Venezuelans’ ability to communicate and access information during the previous 24 hours.

In context The site appeared to be partially accessible as of morning 14th January 2019 though the block is ongoing; the contested Wikipedia articles remained locked down by editors.

The restrictions are understood to follow a bitter Wikipedia edit war where editors put forward conflicting views, during which newly-appointed National Assembly president Juan Guaidó was listed as “president number 51 of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”

Data also show that a number of local sites have been recently restricted, indicating that recent political instability may be the underlying cause for a tightening regime of internet controls.

Venezuela joins Turkey as the only other country presently known to block the entirety of the Wikipedia online encyclopaedia.

The findings are corroborated by several CANTV subscribers who report they can only access Wikipedia using VPN connections which can circumvent censorship.

It could not be ascertained at the time of writing whether an official blocking order has been issued or whether the restriction is intended to be permanent. Other Wikimedia projects such as Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons have not been affected.

The NetBlocks Group is a civil society group working at the intersection of digital rights, cyber-security and internet governance. Independent and non-partisan, NetBlocks strives for an open and inclusive digital future for all. </s> Turkish authorities Saturday blocked access to online encyclopedia Wikipedia, an internet monitoring group said, the latest in what government critics say is a crackdown on free speech on the internet.

A block on all language editions of the Wikipedia website was detected at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) Saturday, monitoring group Turkey Blocks said on its website.

“The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country,” it said.

When attempting to access the webpage using Turkish internet providers, users received a notice the site could not be reached and a “connection timed out” error.

Monitoring groups have accused Turkey of blocking access to social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, particularly in the aftermath of militant attacks.

The government has in the past denied that it blocks the internet, blaming outages on spikes in usage after major events.

There is no official statement on why the site has been blocked but Turkish media is reporting the cause as “terror-related content.”

Media reports

 

 Daily Hurriyet newspaper said Turkey has been in communication with Wikipedia for the removal of content supporting terror and presenting Turkey as a “supporter of terror.”

 

 NTV reported that Turkey demanded Wikipedia to open an office in the country, act in line with international law and abide by court decisions and “not be part of the blackout operation against Turkey.”

 

 If these demands are met and the content removed, the site would be reopened, according to Turkish media.

 

 When attempting to access the site without the use of a virtual private network (VPN), connections time out and browsers alert “this site can’t be reached.” </s> Alwaght- Turkey has blocked all access to Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, a monitoring network reported on Saturday.

"A block affecting all language editions of the website (Wikipedia) detected at 8:00AM local time Saturday 29 April. The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country," Turkey Blocks reported.

The independent "digital transparency project" said "The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country".

The site has been blocked under a provisional administrative measure without a court order but Turkey Blocks says an order is expected in the coming days. The measure has been implemented by the country's Information and Communication Technologies Authority.

Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority confirmed the ban in a statement but gave no details.

 

 "After technical analysis and legal consideration based on the Law Nr. 5651, an administrative measure has been taken for this website wikipedia.org," it said.

Daily Hurriyet newspaper said Turkey has been in communication with Wikipedia for the removal of content supporting terror and presenting Turkey as a "supporter of terror."

NTV reported that Turkey demanded Wikipedia to open an office in the country, act in line with international law and abide by court decisions and "not be part of the blackout operation against Turkey."

If these demands are met and the content removed, the site would be reopened, according to Turkish media.

When attempting to access the site without the use of a virtual private network (VPN), connections time out and browsers alert "this site can't be reached." </s> Turkey has blocked access to the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, citing a law allowing it to ban access to websites deemed obscene or a threat to national security.

ISTANBUL—Access to Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, has been blocked in Turkey for content presenting the country as supporting terror.

Turkey’s official news agency, quoting the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, said Saturday the site was blocked for “becoming an information source acting with groups conducting a smear campaign against Turkey in the international arena.”

Turkey Blocks, an internet censorship monitor, said users in Turkey have been unable to access all language editions of Wikipedia since 8 a.m. Saturday. “The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country,” the monitor said.

The site has been blocked under a provisional administrative measure without a court order but Turkey Blocks said an order is expected in the coming days. The measure has been implemented by the country’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority. </s> Venezuela's socialist government said on Thursday it would seek to block CNN's Spanish-language service online after pulling it off the airwaves in anger at its coverage of the South American nation.

U.S.-based "CNN en Espanol" became unavailable on Venezuela's main cable providers from Wednesday, but it could still be seen on YouTube and various other websites.

"Managers are coordinating with all internet providers, using the available technology, to make the respective blocks," Andres Mendez, head of state communications regulator Conatel, told state media.

"CNN en Espanol" has often taken a tough line toward President Nicolas Maduro's government, but particularly irked authorities here with a report alleging passports were sold illegally at Venezuela's embassy in Iraq, including to members of the Hezbollah movement.

Maduro was also furious at the network for giving prominence to comments by a girl who told him on live TV that some fellow students were fainting from hunger amid the OPEC nation's deep economic crisis.

CNN has stood by its reporting on Venezuela.

"We believe in the vital role that freedom of press plays in a healthy democracy," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Thursday, CNN President Jeff Zucker criticized the Maduro government's move.

"When authoritarian regimes around the world start attacking journalists like that, we all have a problem," Zucker told reporters at a press luncheon in New York.

CNN's Spanish-language service could still be easily accessed online in Venezuela by mid-afternoon on Thursday.

A small group of journalists, politicians and activists protested at Conatel's office in Caracas on Thursday, where a few dozen red-shirted government supporters also rallied in support of the measure against CNN.

Venezuelan authorities took Colombia's NTN24 TV network off the air in 2014 over its reporting of opposition protests that turned violent, and blocked Argentine news site Infobae.

Opponents say Maduro, who has seen his popularity slide since narrowly winning a 2013 election to replace the late Hugo Chavez, has morphed into a dictator by jailing opponents, sidelining the opposition-led congress and delaying local elections.

The 54-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister says he is fighting against well-financed coup plotters intent on ending socialist rule in Venezuela with the help of the United States and the connivance of hostile foreign media.

Venezuela's spat with CNN has come amid rising tensions with the United States this week.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed concern over Venezuela in various calls with South American leaders and met with the wife of the country's best-known jailed opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez. The U.S. Treasury Department has blacklisted Maduro's vice president on accusations of drug-trafficking. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Colombia’s most-popular TV broadcaster has been taken off the airwaves in Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro delivered a scathing rebuke of the neighboring country’s media, joining a growing list of news outlets that have been blocked by his government.

Caracol News director Juan Roberto Vargas told Colombian radio that the channel’s coverage of ousted chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz appears to have been a “breaking point” that led to its removal Wednesday.

Caracol’s removal threatens to further strain already tense relations between the two nations’ governments, with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos saying Thursday that Maduro is increasingly acting like a “dictator.”

“This is another demonstration that this regime doesn’t like freedoms,” Santos said.

Colombian news channel RCN was also blocked from broadcasting on a Venezuelan local cable operator, though its signal remained active Thursday on DirecTV.

Maduro regularly accuses foreign news outlets of spreading a false narrative about Venezuela’s government intended to pave the way for a supposed U.S. military intervention.

“Since the war in Iraq, we have not seen anything as sickening,” Maduro said Tuesday at a news conference with foreign journalists, singling out Caracol, Fox News and the BBC for what he considers biased coverage.

Earlier this year Venezuelan authorities shut down CNN en Espanol’s feed after the Spanish-language channel aired a report about fraudulent passports that drew angry criticism from officials. In all, about a half-dozen foreign networks have been blocked, including Colombia’s El Tiempo and NTN24 and Todo Noticias of Argentina.

Over the years Venezuela’s government has also forced a number of critical national media outlets out of business, in some cases by refusing to renew their operating licenses.

In a 2017 report on global press freedom by Reporters Without Borders, Venezuela ranked 137th out of 179 nations.

“Freedom of the press is as scarce as food” in Venezuela, Vargas told Caracol Radio, a reference to people’s struggles to find basic goods in the country.

Vargas said the move came after escalating government actions against the station. In the last year, he said, three Caracol journalists have been barred from entering Venezuela and some of its equipment was confiscated.

He said Caracol would continue broadcasting over the internet but added that many Venezuelans say they have difficulty accessing the site online, for reasons he did not specify.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said via Twitter that it was “concerned” about Venezuelan authorities’ decision to “remove another news channel from the air.”

Relations between Venezuela and Colombia have grown especially frigid during the last four months of political upheaval in Venezuela. Santos, one of Maduro’s most frequent critics, was the first to announce in late July that his nation would not recognize a vote in Venezuela for delegates to a new constitutional assembly that has nearly unlimited powers.

Ortega, the ousted chief prosecutor who broke with Maduro earlier this year, arrived in Colombia last week after fleeing Venezuela. Santos has offered her political asylum.

The constitutional assembly removed Ortega from her post shortly after it convened in early August. She has promised to deliver evidence to several foreign governments showing that Maduro and top administration officials are involved in corruption.

Associated Press writer Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report. </s> Turkish officials have blocked all access to the popular Wikipedia website within the country.

Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) said on April 29 that it carried out the ban on wikipedia.org but did not give a reason for the move.

Turkish media said the ban is a result of Wikipedia failing to remove content that officials claim is promoting terror and also linking Turkey with terror groups.

A formal court order on the ban is expected to follow in the coming days.

The blockage, which affected all language editions of the website in Turkey, was detected at about 8 a.m. local time after an administrative order was made by authorities, according to the Turkey Blocks monitoring group.

Turkey is well known for temporarily blocking access to popular websites, including Facebook and Twitter, and in March 2014 began blocking YouTube for several months.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Communications regulator Conatel took two channels off the air

Venezuela's communications regulator Conatel has taken two Colombian television channels off the air.

Caracol and RCN were pulled overnight in a move that the channels called "censorship".

Earlier this year, CNN's Spanish language channel was also stopped from broadcasting in Venezuela.

No reason was given for the move, but President Nicolás Maduro has accused Colombia and its leader of plotting against his government.

'Crusade of censorship'

Commenting on the move, RCN said that "the regime of Nicolás Maduro continues its crusade of censorship against Colombian media".

The director of Caracol said that while he had not been given an explanation by Conatel, he suspected that the move was related to the coverage the channel had given to the arrival of Luisa Ortega in Colombia.

Ms Ortega, who until recently was Venezuela's chief prosecutor, has become one of the most outspoken critics of the Maduro government.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Luisa Ortega has accused the president and key government figures of corruption

Once a firm government ally, she denounced attempts to strip the Venezuelan legislature of its powers.

She also said that the creation of the constitutional assembly was unconstitutional, only to be removed from her post by that very assembly in one of its first actions.

After her husband was accused of extortion, the couple fled to Colombia on 18 April, where they were offered asylum by President Juan Manuel Santos.

Ms Ortega and her husband have since travelled to Brazil, where she spoke at a crime-fighting conference in Brasilia.

There, she accused President Maduro and senior officials in his government of corruption, which they have denied. President Maduro said he would ask Interpol to arrest to couple.

The twists and turns of the story were closely followed by Caracol TV and RCN.

'Sowing hate'

President Maduro has been highly critical of international media organisations.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Maduro has been critical of international media organisations

In a press conference on Tuesday, he said that the BBC "has become the biggest propaganda apparatus for the military intervention" in Venezuela.

He also said that it was "hard to neutralise the lying power of CNN, Fox News and the BBC".

"They are sowing hate every day," he said.

After it was taken off the airwaves, Caracol TV said that it regretted the decision taken by the Venezuelan government.

"Noticias Caracol has always carried out its journalistic work in an objective and truthful manner and following principles that we consider fundamental: to offer journalism with context and listening to all points of view," the channel's statement said. </s> Turkish authorities on Saturday blocked access to online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, an internet monitoring group said, the latest in what government critics say is a crackdown on free speech on the internet.

A block on all language editions of the Wikipedia website was detected at 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Saturday, monitoring group Turkey Blocks said on its website.

“The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country,” it said.

When attempting to access the webpage using Turkish internet providers, users received a notice the site could not be reached and a “connection timed out” error.

Monitoring groups have accused Turkey of blocking access to social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, particularly in the aftermath of militant attacks.

The government has in the past denied that it blocks the internet, blaming outages on spikes in usage after major events. But technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional, aimed in part at stopping the spread of militant images and propaganda.
All editions of Wikipedia are blocked in Venezuela by state-owned CANTV amid an ongoing political crisis.