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By Ivan Watson and Gul Tuysuz, CNN

March 21, 2014 -- Updated 0029 GMT (0829 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Hours after Turkey's prime minister vowed to "eradicate" Twitter, Turkish Internet users began to experience widespread disruptions Thursday while trying to access the popular social networking website.

Outrage and fury erupted online. Within an hour the hashtags "#TwitterisblockedinTurkey," "#DictatorErdogan" and "TurkeyBlockedTwitter" surged to the service's top worldwide trends.

Meanwhile, Twitter swiftly offered subscribers a work-around via its verified policy account by advertising an alternative way to send out tweets using cell-phone instant messaging.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan first vowed to shut Twitter down at a campaign rally on Thursday in the city of Bursa.

"Now there is a court order. Twitter, mwitter, we will eradicate it all," Erdogan said, using a Turkish expression that mocked the name of the social networking site.

"The international community will say this and that, and it doesn't concern me one bit," Erdogan added, apparently anticipating the subsequent uproar.

"They will see the power of the Turkish Republic. This has nothing to do with freedom-shmeedom. Freedom is not invading someone's privacy."

Originally posted here:
Turkish PM vows to 'eradicate' Twitter