Twitter’s reportedly blocked as Egyptians protest government

Yahoo News, By Michael Calderone

Photo of protesters and police in Cairo, Egypt on Jan. 25, 2011. (AP /Mohammed Abu Zaid)

Tunisian activists used Twitter and social media platforms effectively in protests that ousted corrupt President Ben Ali. But Egyptian protesters—inspired by events in Tunisia—have had difficulties accessing Twitter during today's large-scale protests against the Mubarak government.

TechCrunch notes that there have been numerous reports Tuesday that Twitter is currently blocked in the country. The Atlantic, citing Global Voices, also reports the site is inaccessible.

The Cutline reached out to a Twitter spokesman to confirm, and instead, was redirected to a tweet from the company's new Twitter Global PR account. That account links to Herdict, a Harvard project that looks at web accessibility around the world. Herdict found several reports today of inaccessibility in Egypt on Tuesday.

Even if Egyptians can't access Twitter, the site remains a go-to destination for those following the the protests from around the world, using the hashtag #jan25.