Research Article

Comparative Social Network Analysis of Terrorist Organizations Through Hashtag Activism

Number: 106 June 26, 2022
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Comparative Social Network Analysis of Terrorist Organizations Through Hashtag Activism

Abstract

Developments in communication technologies, especially in social media, caused significant changes in the activist approaches of terrorist organizations. While the organizations continued their traditional actions, they carried their de facto activism to the cyber world with hashtag activism.

This study aims to determine what kind of network structure terrorist organizations have, what kind of hashtag activism they create, who are the active individuals in the network and the activism process. In this context, we analyzed Twitter accounts and hashtags of the members and sympathizers of the FETO organization and PKK organization using a social network analysis computer program called NodeXL, and made social network analyzes.

Additionally, hashtag posts were subjected to content analysis to collect supporting data. According to the findings, PKK networks have a more horizontal and intense relationship. Foreign actors are also quite influential within the network, and FETO networks display a more hierarchical, controlled and organized relationship. They also sometimes cooperate in networks, despite having opposing ideological approaches.

Keywords

Hashtag activism , Social network analysis , Terrorist organizations , FETO , Terrorist organizations and social media , FETO , PKK.

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APA
Önder, M. S. (2022). Terör Örgütlerinin Hashtag Aktivizmi Üzerinden Karşılaştırmalı Sosyal Ağ Analizi. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi, 106, 169-197. https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1025312