Saudi-Turkish Online War Is On: Websites Blocked, Accusations on The Rise

Days after Saudi Arabia blocked several Turkish news websites, Ankara responded stiffly by blocking dozens of Saudi and Saudi-supported websites.

While tensions between the two countries are nothing new, Saudi Arabia and Turkey's disagreements seem to be in full-throttle once again with the two countries banning news from each other's sources.

Just last week, residents of Saudi Arabia reported their inability to access Turkish news websites including the Arabic version of the state-run news Anadolu Agency.

Translation: Arabic-speaking Turkish websites and accounts, especially Anadolu Agency, are nothing but tools for Turkish intelligence to attack Arab countries especially Saudi Arabia. How does this language represent an official news agency?"

Despite official silence, Saudi Arabian activists have long accused Turkey of spreading "false news that target Saudi policies, its royal family and the country's stability". 

The regional competition between the two countries has been fuelling for years. Tensions, however, reached its highest point with the 2018 gruesome murder of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and when Turkish police reported high-ranking Saudi involvement in the killing.

And now Turkish social media users report of their inability to access Saudi media websites including the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and the Turkish version of the Saudi-funded The Independent.

Exchanging accusations between the two countries is becoming rampant on the Internet and with the online community. The current online war is currently between the citizens of both countries, a reminder of the rapidly-developing tensions that preceded the Saudi-Qatar crisis in the spring of 2017.