Digital Propaganda and Political Success: Twitter Analysis of June 24, 2018 Presidential Election

Year 2019, , 1461 - 1482, 22.07.2019

Nurettin Güz , Ceren Yegen , Bayram Oğuz Aydın

https://doi.org/10.17680/erciyesiletisim.522546

Cited By: 7

Abstract

Propaganda that does not conceive a positive conotation in the human mind is an activity
that influences ideas and attitudes and shapes them in the desired direction. There are
many similar propaganda activities in many parts of the world. The propaganda which is
the veins fed by politics is quite common in some aspects of political propaganda. Digital
propaganda, which is conducted dialogically by using communication technologies, is also
very popular today and is preferred by political actors as well as political parties because it
enables the public to interact politically. Propaganda intensely involved in the social media
as well as the streets, is indication of this situation. So much so that for presidential and
parliamentary elections in Turkey on June 24, 2018 on Twitter that is one of the platform
of the leading social network, many digital propaganda activities have been conducted and
the public opinion on social networks, has been the current target audience to the news.
Because, in the digital age, public opinion is in social networks as much as it is in the streets,
and the public opinion has a power to agenda setting. So in this study, from the date that
Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced the presidential candidates (May 9, 2018) before
the presidential and parliamentary elections held on June 24, 2018 in Turkey, the sharings
of the candidates’ official Twitter accounts’ will be examined until June 25, 2018 via social
network analysis. As a result of the study, some structural features of political parties and
candidates’ use of social networking for propaganda purposes, and the relationship between
these characteristics and the political success that they achieved at the end of the election
were revealed.

Keywords

Propaganda, Digital Propaganda, Twitter, Social Network Analysis

Dijital Propaganda ve Politik Başarı: 24 Haziran 2018 Cumhurbaşkanlığı Seçiminin Twitter Analizi

Abstract

İnsan zihninde olumlu bir konotasyona gebe olmayan propaganda, fikir ve tutumlara etki etme
ve onları arzu edilen yönde biçimlendirme faaliyetidir. Dünyanın birçok yerinde benzer bir çok
biçimde yürütülen propaganda faaliyetleri söz konusudur. Siyasetin beslendiği damarlardan
olan propaganda, politik propaganda görünümleri bazında da bir hayli yaygındır. İletişim
teknolojilerinden yararlanarak diyalojik olarak yürütülen dijital propaganda da, siyaset
yapanların kamuya interaktif biçimde ulaşmasını sağladığından, bugün oldukça popülerdir
ve siyasi partiler gibi, siyasi aktörler tarafından da tercih edilmektedir. Propagandanın bugün
yoğun olarak meydanlardan, sosyal medyaya kayması ilgili durumun bir göstergesidir. Öyle ki
Türkiye’de 24 Haziran 2018’de gerçekleştirilen Cumhurbaşkanlığı ve Milletvekili seçimleri adına
sosyal ağlarda öne çıkan platformlardan olan Twitter’da birçok dijital propaganda yürütülmüş,
sosyal ağlardaki kamuoyu güncel haberlere hedef kitle olmuştur. Çünkü dijital çağda kamuoyu
sokakta olduğu kadar, sosyal ağlardadır ve gündemi bir ölçüde belirleme gücüne sahiptir. Bu
yüzden bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de 24 Haziran 2018’de gerçekleştirilen Cumhurbaşkanlığı ve
Milletvekili seçimleri öncesinde, Yüksek Seçim Kurulu’nun (YSK) Cumhurbaşkanı adaylarını
resmen açıkladığı tarihten (9 Mayıs 2018) itibaren 25 Haziran 2018’e kadar olan süreçte,
ilgili adayların ve siyasi partilerin resmi Twitter hesaplarındaki paylaşımları, sosyal ağ analizi
yöntemleriyle incelenmiştir. Çalışma neticesinde, siyasi parti ve adayların propaganda amaçlı
sosyal ağ kullanımlarına ait bazı yapısal özellikler ve bu özellikler ile seçim bitiminde elde
ettikleri politik başarı arasındaki ilişkiler ortaya koyulmuştur. 

Keywords

Propaganda, Dijital Propaganda, Twitter, Sosyal Ağ Analizi

References

• Akay, R. A. (2011). Güncel Türk Siyasal Yaşamında “Siyasal İletişim Danışmanı” Kavramı, Doktora Tezi, T.C. Marmara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İstanbul.
• Auerbach, J. & Castronovo, R. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies, OUP USA.
• Austin, F. M. (1941). Political Propaganda, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 11 (2): 143-147.
• Bartlett, J. & Miller, C. (2011). Truth, lies and the internet a report into young people’s digital fluency, DEMOS, Truth, Lies and the Internet.
• Bernays, E. (2005). Propaganda, Introduction by M. C. Miller, Ig Publishing, USA. Borgatti, S. P., Everett, M. G., & Johnson, J. C. (2013). Analyzing Social Networks, Sage Publications.
• Brown, J. S. (2001). Learning in the Digital Age, The Internet and the University: Forum: 71–72.
• Butts, C. T. (2008). Social network analysis: A methodological introduction, Asian Journal of Social Psychology (2008), 11, 13–41.
• Camankulova, R. (2013). Kırgız Belgesel Sinemasında Propaganda, İdil 2 (6): 100- 121.
• Childs, P. (2008). Modernism, 2nd Edition, Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.
• Clark, T. (2017). Sanat ve Propaganda, 3. Baskı, Çev. Esin Hoşsucu, Sanat ve Kuram Dizisi, Ayrıntı Yayınları.
• Conserva, H. T. (2003). Propaganda Techniques, Author House.
• Craft, A. (2012). Childhood in a Digital Age: creative challenges for educational futures, Submitted to London Review of Education, August 2011, Revisions submitted to London Review of Education, Accepted for publication March 2012.
• Cull, N. J., Culbert, D. & Welch, D. (2003). Propaganda and Mass Persuasion - A Historical Encyclopedia 1500 to the Present, ABC-CLIO.
• Daramola, D. (2015). Young Children as Internet Users and Parents Perspectives, University of Oulu Department of Information Processing Science, Master’s Thesis May 18, 2015.
• Domenach, J-M. (2003). Politika ve Propaganda, Varlık Yayınları: İstanbul. Doob, W. (1950). Goebbels’ Principles of Propaganda, The Public Opinion Quarterly, 14 (3): 419-442.
• Dönmezer, S. (1983) “Basın Suçlarında Ceza Sorumluluğu”, Basın ve Basının Karşılaştığı Hukuki Sorunlar, Hürriyet Vakfı Eğitim Yayınları, No.3, İstanbul.
• Ellul, J. (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes, Vintage Books Edt. USA.
• Faris, R. M., Hal R., Etling, B., Bourassa, N., Zuckerman, E. & Benkler, Y. (2017). Partisanship, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Online Media and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Research Paper.
• Grand-Clement, S. (2017). Digital learning Education and skills in the digital age, An overview of the consultation on digital learning held as part of the Corsham Institute Thought Leadership Programme 2017.
• Güz, N. (2005). Haberde Yönlendirme ve Kamuoyu Araştırmaları, Nobel Yayıncılık: Ankara.
• Haberler. (2017). “Bakan Kılıç’tan Dijital Oyunlarda İslamofobi Uyarısı”, 22.05.2017, https://www.haberler.com/bakan-kilic-tan-dijital-oyunlarda-islamofobi9645368-haberi/
• Hajli, M. N (2014). A study of the impact of social media on consumers, International Journal of Market Research, 56 (3): 387-404.
• Huntington, A. (2013). Review: Trust—The Increasing Dangers for Children in a Digital World, Children’s Legal Rights Journal, 34 (1): 132-134.
• İçel, K. (1983) «Devletle Basın Arasındaki İlişkiler», Basın ve Basının Karşılaştığı Hukuki Sorunlar, Hürriyet Vakfı Eğitim Yayınları., No.3, İstanbul.
• Ingram, J. H. (2016). A Brief History of Propaganda During Conflict: Lessons for Counter-Terrorism Strategic Communications, ICCT Research Paper, June 2016.
• Jackall, R. (Eds.) 1995. Propaganda, NYU Press.
• Jamali M. & Abolhassani H. (2006). Different aspects of social network analysis. In: Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE/WIC/ACM international conference on web intelligence (WI’06) (Washington, DC, USA), IEEE Computer Society, pp 66-72.
• Jowett, G. S. & O’Donnell, V. (2011). Propaganda & Persuasion, Sage Publications.
• Karaçor, S. (2006). Propagandanın Halkla İlişkiler ve Reklama Göre Yapı, İşleyiş Açısından Farklılıkları, İstanbul Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Dergisi, Sayı 27, ss. 85-96.
• Kaya, R. (1985) Kitle iletişim Sistemleri, Teori Yayınları, Ankara. Kilduff, M. & Tsai, W. (2003). Social Networks and Organizations, London; Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage.
• Kiry, A. (2009). Digimodernism: How New Technologies Dismantle the Postmodern and Reconfigure Our Culture, 1st Edition, The Continuum International Publishing Group.
• Kosar, R. K. (2005). Public Relations and Propaganda: Restrictions on Executive Agency Activities, CRS Report for Congress, Updated March 21, 2005, Order Code RL32750.
• Kuruoğlu, H. (2006). Propaganda ve Özgürlük Aracı Olarak Radyo, Nobel: Ankara.
• Lee, J. (2015). The Double-Edged Sword: The Effects of Journalists’ Social Media Activities on Audience Perceptions of Journalists and Their News Products, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20 (2015): 312-329.
• Little, T. A. (2017). Propaganda and credulity, Games and Economic Behavior, 102 (2017), 224–232.
• Marrero, J. P. (2013). Under propaganda fire: Spain and the Great War, in War and Propaganda in the XXth Centruy, pp. 13-16, Rollo, F. M., Pires, P. A. & Novais, N. M. (Eds.), Lisboa: IHC.
• McQuail, D. (1994) Kitle İletişim Kuramı, Çev. A.H.Yüksel, Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları, Eskişehir.
• Medyasyon. (2009). “Retweet Nedir? Nasil Yapilir? Neden Yapmalisiniz?”, 06.12.2009, URL: https://medyasyon.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/retweet-101/.
• Mehraj, H. K., Bhat, A. N. & Mehraj, H. R. (2014). Impacts OF Media on Society: A Sociological Perspective, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 3 (6): 56-64.
• Nadir Çetin, B. (2014). Propaganda Olgusu ve Propagandanın Amerikanlaşması, Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 24 (2): 239-265.
• Neelamalar, M. & Chitra, P. (2009). New media and society: A Study on the impact of social networking sites on indian youth, Estudos em Comunicac¸ ˜ao no6, 125-145.
• Neuman, W. R. & Guggenheim, L. (2011). The Evolution of Media Effects Theory: A Six-Stage Model of Cumulative Research, Communication Theory, 21 (2011): 169-196.
• Njoroge, R. (2013). Impacts of Social Media Among The Youth On Behavior Change: A Case Study of University Students in Selected Universities in Nairobi, Kenya, A Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirement for The Master of Arts Degree in Communication Studies of The School of Journalism and Mass Communication University of Nairobi.
• Owusu-Acheaw, M. & Larson, A. G. (2015). Use of Social Media and its Impact on Academic Performance of Tertiary Institution Students: A Study of Students of Koforidua, Journal of Education and Practice, 6 (6): 94-101.
• Qualter, H. T. (1980). Propaganda Teorisi ve Propagandanın Gelişimi, Çev. Ünsal Oskay, Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi, 35 (1): 255-307.
• Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2004). The Thinker’s Guide For Conscientious Citizens on How to Detect Media Bias & Propaganda In National and World News, Based on Critical Thinking Concepts & Tools, The Foundation for Critical Thinking.
• Pratkanis, A. & Aronson, E. (2001). Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion, Henry Holt and Company, LLC, USA.
• Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, From On the Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5.
• Pryke, S. (2012). Social Network Analysis in Construction, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Rieger, D.; Frischlich, L. & Bente, G. (2013). Propaganda 2.0 Pyschological effects of Right-Wing and Islamic Extremist Internet Videos, In cooperation with the Terrorism/Extremism Reseacrh Unit (FTE) of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt).
• Saunders, L. (2013). Information as Weapon: Propaganda, Politics, and the Role of the Library, ACRL 2013, pp. 309-318, April 10–13, 2013, Indianapolis, IN.
• Scott, J. & Carrington, P. J. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of social network analysis, London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage.
• Sefton-Green, J., Marsh, J., Erstad, O. & Flewitt, R. (2016). Establishing a Research Agenda for the Digital Literacy Practices of Young Children, AWhite Paper for COST Action IS1410.
• Shahjahan, A. T. M. & Chisty, K. U. (2014). Social Media Research and Its Effect on Our Society, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Information and Communication Engineering, 8 (6): 2009-2013.
• Siddiqui, S. & Singh, T. (2016). Social Media its Impact with Positive and Negative Aspects, International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research, 5 (2): 71-75.
• Sözcü. (2018). “YSK, Cumhurbaşkanı adaylarını açıkladı”, 09.05.2018, https:// www.sozcu.com.tr/2018/gundem/ysk-cumhurbaskani-adaylariniacikladi-2398313/.
• Tarhan, N. (2016). Psikolojik Savaş-Gri Propaganda, Timaş Yayınları.
• Third, A., Bellerose, D., Diniz De Oliveira, J, Lala, G. & Theakstone, G. (2017). Young and Online: Children’s perspectives on life in the digital age, The State of the World’s Children 2017 Companion Report.
• Torres, R. M., Jordán, J. & Horsburgh, N. (2006). Analysis and Evolution of the Global Jihadist Movement Propaganda, Terrorism and Political Violence, 18: 399-421.
• Tunalı, V. (2016). Sosyal Ağ Analizine Giriş, Nobel Yayınları: Ankara.
• Uçkaç Altun, S. (2010). Hitler Almanyası’nda Sanat ve Propaganda, Sanat ve Tasarım Dergisi, 1 (5): 29-39.
• Valkenburg, P. M. & Peter, J. (2013). Five challenges for the future of media-effects research, International Journal of Communication: IJoC, 7, 197-215.
• Yamamoto, J. & Ananou, S. (2015). Humanity in the Digital Age: Cognitive, Social, Emotional, and Ethical Implications, Contemporary Educational Technology, 6 (1): 1-18.
• Yegen, C. (2013). Demokratik ve Yeni Bir Kamusal Alan Olarak Sosyal Medya, ANEMON Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 1 (2): 119-135.
• Yegen, C. (2018). Siyasal İletişim, Propaganda ve Ulusal Kimlik, Kriter: İstanbul.
• Yüksek Seçim Kurulu (YSK) (2018). Cumhurbaşkanı Seçimi ve 27. Dönem Milletvekili Genel Seçimi Sonuçlrı,http://www.ysk.gov.tr/doc/dosyalar/ docs/24Haziran2018/KesinSecimSonuclari/2018CB-416D.pdf, Erişim Tarihi: 12.07.2018
• Walton, D. (1997). What is Propaganda, and What Exactly is Wrong With it? Public Affairs Quarterly, 11 (4): 383-413.
• Williams, L. (2016). ANALYSIS Islamic State Propaganda and the Mainstream Media, The Lowy Institute for International Policy.
• Woolley, C. S. & Howard, N. P. (2017). Computational Propaganda Worldwide: Executive Summary, Working Paper No. 2017.11. The Computational Propaganda Research Project at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, has researched the use of social media for public opinion manipulation.