Monday, June 24, 2013

Ankara mayor's BBC spy claims spark hashtag war - CNN.com

Ankara mayor's BBC spy claims spark hashtag war
By Ivan Watson and Gul Tuysuz
June 24, 2013 -- Updated 1316 GMT (2116 HKT)

Ankara's mayor has used his Twitter account to accuse a BBC correspondent of spying
Mayor Ibrahim Melih Gokcek created a hashtag to spread the claims against the journalist
However, online opponents mobilized their own hashtag in response to Melih Gokcek
Their hashtag - accusing Melih Gocek of being a provocateur - became more widely spread

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Twitter has been the scene of a bizarre Turkish hashtag war between the mayor of Ankara and, well, a lot of other social networkers.

The drama began Sunday when Ibrahim Melih Gokcek, the man who has been mayor of Turkey's capital for more than a decade, accused a reporter from the BBC's Turkish service of being a foreign agent.

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