Turkey detains 64 over 'provocative' coronavirus posts

Turkey has detained 64 people over "provocative and baseless" social media posts about the new coronavirus pandemic, the interior ministry said.

The ministry did not give details but there have been instances in other countries of misinformation shared online including in Indonesia and the United States.

"We have found 242 suspects making baseless and provocative coronavirus posts on social media, and 64 have been detained," the ministry said on Twitter late Thursday.

It did not give further details but said work continued to detain others.

Turkey has so far confirmed four deaths from the novel coronavirus, while 359 cases of infection have been recorded.

Ankara has taken a series of measures including temporarily shutting schools and universities as well as cinemas, gyms and shisha cafes.

The presidency on Friday issued a circular banning cultural, scientific, artistic and similar indoor and outdoor events until the end of April.