A Study of Disinformation on Social Media During Disasters: The Case of the Dam Burst

Year 2024, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 41 - 50, 18.03.2024

Mahmut Enes Ağca

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10778108

Abstract

Disaster refers to situations that emerge suddenly and surpass the existing response capabilities. In Turkey, a disaster situation emerged on February 6, 2023, after two major earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş. While rescue operations were underway after the earthquake, disinformation that the walls of Hatay Yarseli Dam, located in the disaster zone, had cracked and that the dam would explode spread rapidly on social media, which created an aura of panic in the region, and rescue rescue activities and aid activities were interrupted. In this study, the case study technique was used within the framework of the qualitative research method. On the axis of the post on BaBaLa TV, one of the accounts that spread the dam Cracked disinformation on social media and the explanations of the relevant institution official about the process of making the social media post that caused the disinformation to spread, disinformation in social media, and the importance of the concept of verification in journalism were examined. In the study, it was concluded that BabalaTV neglected the ethical working principles of journalism due to its inattention and incorrect verification practices in the verification of received information, which is the basis of journalism, and that disinformation was spread due to negligence.

Keywords

Disinformation, Disaster, Journalism, Disaster communication, Disinformation in social media

References

• AFAD. (2015). Türkiye Afet Yönetimi Strateji Belgesi. Retrieved from https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jmo.org.tr%2Fresimler%2Fekler%2F4d8c522e05f9cb9_ek.doc&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK [Access Date: 27.10.2023].
• AFAD. (n.d.). Açıklamalı Afet Yönetimi Terimleri Sözlüğü. Retrieved from https://www.afad.gov.tr/aciklamali-afet-yonetimi-terimleri-sozlugu [Access Date: 25.10.2023].
• American Psychological Association. (2022). Misinformation and disinformation. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/misinformation-disinformation [Access Date: 26.10.2023].
• Anadolu Ajansı. (2023). Malatya Valiliği: Sultansuyu Barajı tedbiren kademeli olarak boşaltılacak. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/malatya-valiligi-sultansuyu-baraji-tedbiren-kademeli-olarak-bosaltilacak/2808680. [Access Date: 10.10.2023].
• Aslan, K. (2009). Haberin Yol Haritası (2. b.). İstanbul: Anahtar Kitaplar.
• Boztepe Taşkıran, H. (2023). Afet İletişimi Nedir?, Ne Değildir? Yeni Medya, 14, 359-363. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/yenimedya/issue/78681/1306010 [ Access Date: 26.08.2023].
• Budak, E. (2023). “Türk Medyasının Depremle İmtihanı: Kahramanmaraş Depremini Afet Haberciliği Üzerinden Değerlendirmek”. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Elektronik Dergisi, 11(2), 1087-1113. https://doi.org/ 10.19145/e-gifder.1287043 [Access Date: 12.10.2023].
• Chandler, D. and Munday, R. (2011). A Dictionary of Media and Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Duman, K. (2019). “Haber Kaynaği Olarak Sosyal Ağlarin Kullanimi: Türk İnternet Haber Siteleri Üzerine Bir Analiz”. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Elektronik Dergisi, 7(3), 1637-1654.
• Erkal, T. and Değerliyurt, M. (2009). “Türkiye’de Afet Yönetimi”. Doğu Coğrafya Dergisi, 0(22), 147-164. Huiberts, E. (2020). “Watching Disaster News Online and Offline: Audiences Experiencing News about Far-away Disasters in a Postbroadcast Society”. Television & New Media, 21(1), 41-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476418821328 [Access Date: 05.10.2023]. IFRC. (n.d.). What is a disaster. Retrieved from https://www.ifrc.org/our-work/disasters-climate-and-crises/what-disaster [Access Date: 02.10.2023].
• Koç Akgül, S. (2021). Afet Odaklı İletişim. İstanbul: Hiper Yayın.
• McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (6. b.). London: SAGE Publications.
• Ntv.com.tr. (2018). Habertürk gazetesi cuma kapanıyor (Yazılı basın, dijitale yeniliyor). Retrieved from https://www.ntv.com.tr/ekonomi/haberturk-gazetesi-kapaniyor-cuma-son-gun,NVcwzAGHQEmRWtvB4VXqqQ [Access Date: 02.11.2023].
• Oda TV. (2023). Oğuzhan Uğur o görüntüleri paylaştı… "Baraj patladı" yalanı nasıl yayıldı. Retrieved from https://www.odatv4.com/siyaset/oguzhan-ugur-o-goruntuleri-paylasti-baraj-patladi-yalani-nasil-yayildi-273366 [Access Date: 04.11.2023].
• Özgen, M. (2006). Gazetecinin Etik Kimliği. İstanbul: Set-Systems Yayınevi.
• Öztürk, E. (2022). “"Dezenformasyon Yasası" Ekseninde İnternet Paylaşımlarının Etki ve Sınırları”. Yeni Medya, (13), s. 501-503. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/yenimedya/issue/73764/1221353 [Access Date: 07.11.2023].
• Platania, F., Hernandez, C. T. and Arreola, F. (2022). “Social media communication during natural disasters and the impact on the agricultural market”. Tech Forecast Soc Change, 179, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121594
• Shao, C., Ciampaglia, G. L., Varol, O., Yang, K., Flammini, A. and Menczer, F. (n.d.). The spread of low-credibility content by social bots. Nature Communications (9). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06930-7
• Shu, K., Bhattacharjee, A., Alatawi, F., Nazer, T., Ding, K., Karami, M. and Liu, H. (2020). “Combating disinformation in a social media age”. WIREs Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (10). https://doi.org/10.1002/widm.1385
• Similarweb. (2023, November 1). News & Media Publishers. Retrieved from https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/turkey/news-and-media/
• Sondakika.com. (2023). Hatay’ın Yarseli İlçesinde Baraj… https://www.sondakika.com/haber/haber-son-dakika-hatay-in-antakya-ilcesinde-baraj-1562586 [Access Date: 09.11.2023].
• Sozcu.com.tr. (2023). Oğuzhan Uğur “Baraj patladı” tweeti attı mı, neden soruşturma açıldı? Retrieved from https://www.sozcu.com.tr/hayatim/magazin-haberleri/oguzhan-ugur-baraj-patladi-tweeti-atti-mi-neden-sorusturma-acildi/ [ Access Date: 09.11.2023].
• Taşkıran, İ. and Kırık, A. M. (2016). “Gazetecilerin Sosyal Medyayı Haber Kaynağı Olarak Kullanımı: Medya Profesyonellerinin Bakış Açılarını Tespit Etmeye Yönelik Bir Araştırma”. Intermedia, 3(4), 213-241.
• Turoğlu, H. (n.d.). Doğal Afetler. Retrieved from TÜBİTAK Sosyal Bilimler Ansiklopedisi: https://ansiklopedi.tubitak.gov.tr/ansiklopedi/dogal_afetler [Access Date: 15.10.2023].
• Türkiye Gazeteciler Cemiyeti. (2019). Türkiye Gazetecileri Hak ve Sorumluluk Bildirgesi. Retrieved from https://www.tgc.org.tr/bildirgeler/t [Access Date: 16.11.2023].