Religious Digital Creatives in Türkiye: A Research on the Axis of Algorithmic Authority

Year 2024, Issue: 46, 23 - 44, 31.12.2024

Yunus Ergen

https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.1488194

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of religious digital content in Türkiye.
This trend is fueled by the contributions of various content creators and the flexibility of social media
platforms. The quantitative density of digital content enables content creators to be perceived as authorities
in their respective fields. The most recent approach for understanding authority derived from the content
generated in digital media is algorithmic authority. This approach is also employed to analyze the structure
of religious digital content creators and the content they create. This study aims to reveal who creates
religious digital content in Türkiye, to classify the structure of the content created, and to evaluate the level of
authority of these creators in the focus of algorithmic authority. To achieve this, 176 YouTube channels that
create religious content were indexed and analyzed using content analysis. These channels were classified
into five categories: algorithmic authority, structure of channel, structure of content, type of content, and
monetization. The study found that algorithmic authority varied based on the number of subscribers,
videos, and total views, but the vast majority of channels had the highest algorithmic authority in terms
of total views. Most of the content was created by religious communities, and the theme of fundamental
religious sciences was prevalent. The majority of channels generate income through content monetization.
The research indicates that religious digital creatives in Türkiye have high algorithmic authority, continue
their activities with different organizations, and have diverse content.

Keywords

Digital religion, religious digital creatives (RDCs), algorithmic authority (AA), YouTube, Türkiye

Türkiye’de Dini Dijital İçerik Üreticileri: Algoritmik Otorite Ekseninde Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Son yıllarda Türkiye’de dini dijital içeriklerin sayısında belirgin bir artış gözlenmektedir. Bu artış, çeşitli
içerik üreticilerinin katkılarıyla her geçen gün pozitif bir ivme kazanmaktadır. Sosyal medya platformlarının
esnekliği ve sınırsız içerik potansiyeli, bu çeşitliliği desteklemektedir. Dijital içeriklerin niceliksel yoğunluğu
içeriği üretenlerin kendi alanlarında otorite olarak görülebilmelerine imkân tanımaktadır. Dijital medyada
üretilen içeriklerle elde edilen otoritenin yapısını çerçevelemek amacıyla geliştirilen en güncel yaklaşımın
ise algoritmik otorite olduğu söylenebilir. Bu yaklaşım, dini dijital içerik üreticilerinin ve ürettikleri
içeriklerin yapısını incelemek için de kullanılmaktadır. Türkiye’de dini dijital içeriklerin kimler tarafından
üretildiğini ortaya çıkarmayı ve üretilen içeriklerin yapısını tasnif ederek söz konusu üreticilerin otorite
düzeylerini algoritmik otorite odağında değerlendirmeyi amaçlayan bu araştırmada, YouTube’da dini içerik
üreten kanallar çeşitli arama kriterlerine göre indekslenerek kayıt altına alınmış ve toplamda 176 kanaldan
oluşan bir dini içerik üretici envanteri çıkarılmıştır. Envanterde yer alan kanallar içerik analizi yöntemiyle
incelenmiş ve beş farklı kategoride kodlanarak tasnif edilmiştir. Kategoriler, algoritmik otorite, kanalların
yapısı, içeriklerin yapısı, içeriklerin türü ve parasallaştırma şeklinde belirlenmiştir. Algoritmik otorite
düzeyleri abone, video ve toplam görüntülenme sayılarına göre farklılık gösterse de kanalların büyük
çoğunluğunun en çok toplam görüntülenme metriğinde algoritmik otoritelerinin yüksek olduğu tespit
edilmiştir. İçerikler daha çok dini topluluklar tarafından üretilirken, özgün bir hüviyete sahip oldukları
ve daha çok temel din bilimlerine yönelik bir temanın hâkim olduğu saptanmıştır. Kanalların büyük
çoğunluğu ise ürettikleri içerikleri parasallaştırarak gelir elde etmektedir. Araştırma Türkiye’de dini dijital
içeriği üretenlerin yüksek bir algoritmik otoriteye sahip olduklarını, farklı yapılanmalarla faaliyetlerini
sürdürdüklerini ve özgün sayılabilecek heterojen içerikler ürettiklerini ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

Dijital din, dini dijital içerik üreticileri, algoritmik otorite, YouTube, Türkiye

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