Last night, the Turkish Military launched a massive coup to topple President Erdogan’s government and impose a total media blackout. The Turkish President was forced to use Apple’s FaceTime calling service to reach out and address the nation.
Low-flying jets and gunfire in the Turkish capital signaled the start of the military coup. The state-owned media stations were taken over by the military while social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were also inaccessible. The media take-over was a crucial part of the coup to stop the President from addressing the nation, but the President found another way of getting his voice out.
His first appearance after the attempted coup came through a FaceTime video call to a CNN Turk anchor! The anchor had the iPhone held up to a TV camera so that the President could address the nation.
“We will overcome this,” Erdogan said as the anchor placed a lapel microphone near the screen. “Go to the streets and give them their answer. I am coming to a square in Ankara. This was done from outside the chain of command. Those who are responsible, we will give them the necessary punishment.”
Technology has come a long way and in these days, it is a crucial tool, especially for any rebellions (or military coups like this one). Its effect was massively felt in the Arab Spring revolution and this time, one FaceTime call seems to have been enough to deter the course of a military coup and let democracy prevail in the country of Turkey.
Source— CNN
