Turkish authorities investigating 10,000 social media users

Turkishauthorities are investigating some 10,000 people on suspicion of using socialmedia to support terrorism, the interior ministry said on Saturday, part of awide crackdown that has alarmed rights groups and some Western allies.Turkey, which faces security threats from Kurdish and leftist militants andIslamic State, has sacked or suspended more than 100,000 people following anattempted military coup in July. It says the measures are necessary to root outsupporters of the putsch and other terrorists.Rights groups and some European countries have said President Tayyip Erdogan isusing the current state of emergency to quash dissent. Since the coup, morethan 150 media outlets have been shut down and 140 journalists arrested.The interior ministry said on Saturday the fight against terrorism was beingcarried out "with determination" in social media.In the last six months, authorities have detained 3,710 people for questioning,the ministry said. Of those, 1,656 have been formally arrested and 84 are stillbeing questioned.The remaining 1,970 have been released, although 1,203 of those are still beingmonitored, it said.Access to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook is commonly blocked,particularly after bombings or other deadly attacks, internet monitoring groupshave said. Turkey denies that it blocks the internet, and has previously blamedoutages on spikes in usage after major events.Technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media areintentional, aimed in part at stopping the spread of militant images andpropaganda.