Examining ISIS’s Turkish Sympathizers on Twitter

Abstract

Social media platforms have become a part of people's daily lives. However, developing social media technologies have affected not only people but also terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and social media has become an essential part of ISIS's strategies. ISIS effectively uses many social media platforms, especially Twitter, for propaganda, recruitment, and creating fear among people. ISIS also actively uses Twitter in Turkey. However, the number of academic studies focusing on the behavior, structure, communication, and relationship networks of ISIS sympathizers in Turkey is limited. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to reveal the structure, behavior, communication, and relationship networks of ISIS's Turkish sympathizers. Accordingly, this study focuses on the structure, behavior, communication, and relationship networks of ISIS's Turkish sympathizers. I will analyze them within four main analytical steps. The basic characteristics, structures, behaviors, and relationship networks of 2079 Turkish ISIS sympathizers are examined with the R computer program, and many remarkable findings are reached as a result of the analysis.

Keywords

• Twitter Analysis
• Network Analysis
• Correlation Analysis
• Social Media
• ISIS

IŞİD’in Twitter’daki Türk Sempatizanlarının İncelenmesi

Abstract

Sosyal medya, son yıllarda günlük hayatın önemli bir parçası haline gelmiş, en başta bireyler olmak üzere, örgütleri, kuruluşları ve cemiyetleri de etkisi altına almıştır. Hal böyle olunca, bu etkileşimden terör örgütleri de kendilerine pay çıkarmış ve örnek olarak, Irak-Şam İslam Devleti (IŞİD)’in stratejilerinin oluşturulmasında ve paylaşılmasında; sosyal medya önemli bir taban oluşturmuştur. IŞİD, daha siyasi bir platform olması nedeniyle, başta Twitter olmak üzere pek çok sosyal medya platformunu; propaganda yapmak, sempatizan kazanmak ve halk arasında korku yaratmak için etkin bir şekilde kullanmaktadır. IŞİD’in Türkiye’de en aktif kullandığı sosyal medya platformu; “Twitter”dır. Ancak Türkiye’de IŞİD sempatizanlarının Twitter’daki davranışları, yapısı, iletişim ve ilişki ağlarına odaklanan akademik çalışmaların sayısı sınırlıdır. Bu nedenle, çalışmada bu noksanlın giderilmesine odaklanılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı IŞİD’in Twitter’daki Türk sempatizanlarının temel özellikleri, yapıları, davranışları ve ilişki ağlarını detaylı olarak incelemektir. Çalışma, dört ana analitik adımda analiz edilmiştir. R bilgisayar programı ile 2079 Türk IŞİD sempatizanının temel özellikleri, yapıları, davranışları ve ilişki ağları incelenmiş, analiz sonucunda dikkat çekici birçok tespite ulaşılmıştır.

Keywords

• IŞİD’in Türk Sempatizanları
• Twitter Analizi
• Network Analizi
• Sosyal Medya
• Korelasyon Analizi
• ISIS

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