Strategic Communication Methods Used by the Turkish National Police in Large-Scale Crises: The Case of X

Abstract

The Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023, caused intense destruction due to both the scale of spread and the secondary disasters accompanying the earthquake; 11 provinces were affected, more than 50 people lost their lives, and more than 100 thousand people were injured. Turkish National Police Organization (EGM) also played an active role during earthquakes, where rescue and aid efforts were carried out with the cooperation of all public institutions, private organizations and citizens. It continued its awareness-raising activities both through the traditional media and social media platforms after the earthquakes. This study aims to examine the activities carried out by EGM to inform the public, protect it against deliberate and false information, and enlighten the society with proactive and reactive strategies within the context of strategic communication methods and crisis communication studies. The scope of the study focused on EGM’s preventive measures and aid efforts for Kahramanmaraş earthquakes via the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), as well as the work carried out against provocative posts and digital fraud activities disseminating on digital platforms. In this study, which was carried out with the descriptive analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, 161 posts circulated by the EGM were found on the X platform between February 6, 2023, and March 31, 2023, during the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, and they were examined in the context of strategic communication methods.

Keywords

• Combating Disinformation
• Turkish National Police Organization
• Crisis Communication
• Strategic Communication

Büyük Çaplı Krizlerde Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğünün Kullandığı Stratejik İletişim Yöntemleri: X Örneği

Abstract

6 Şubat 2023 tarihinde meydana gelen Kahramanmaraş merkezli depremler gerek yayılım ölçeği gerekse depreme eşlik eden ikincil afetler nedeniyle yoğun yıkıma yol açmış; 11 il etkilenmiş, 50 binden fazla kişi hayatını kaybetmiş ve 100 binden fazla kişi de yaralanmıştır. Tüm kamu kurumlarının, özel kuruluşların ve vatandaşların iş birliği ile kurtarma ve yardım çalışmalarının sürdürüldüğü depremlerde Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü (EGM) de aktif olarak görev almış ve deprem sonrasında bilinçlendirme faaliyetlerine hem geleneksel medya hem de sosyal medya platformları üzerinden devam etmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, EGM’nin kamuoyunu bilgilendirmek, kasıtlı ve yanlış bilgilere karşı korumak, proaktif ve reaktif stratejilerle toplumu aydınlatmak için sürdürdüğü faaliyetleri stratejik iletişim yöntemleri ve kriz iletişim çalışmaları bağlamında incelemektir. Çalışma kapsamında, EGM’nin sosyal medya platformu X (eski adıyla Twitter) üzerinden Kahramanmaraş merkezli depremlere yönelik önleyici tedbirleri ve yardım çalışmaları ile dijital platformlarda yayılan provokatif paylaşımlar ve dijital dolandırıcılık faaliyetlerine yönelik gerçekleştirdiği çalışmalara odaklanılmıştır. Nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden betimsel analiz ile yürütülen bu çalışmada Kahramanmaraş merkezli depremlerin meydana geldiği 6 Şubat-31 Mart 2023 tarihleri arasında X platformunda, EGM tarafından dolaşıma sunulan 161 paylaşım tespit edilmiş ve bahsi geçen paylaşımlar stratejik iletişim yöntemleri bağlamında irdelenmiştir.

Keywords

• Dezenformasyonla Mücadele
• Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü
• Kriz İletişimi
• Stratejik İletişimi

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