Araştırma Makalesi

'Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?': Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts

Sayı: 70 8 Temmuz 2026
PDF İndir
EN TR

'Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?': Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts

Öz

‘Shitposts’ are low-quality online content that deliberately adopts a hostile and ambiguous tone. This study examined 1.025 posts shared between 2023 and 2025 on 20 popular shitpost Instagram accounts in Türkiye using qualitative thematic analysis and quantitative content analysis based on ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘topic.’ This research aims to evaluate the constitutive characteristics of these posts, their potential for political criticism, and their possible links to extreme right and incel ideologies. The findings suggest that, although the content is not entirely meaningless, it exhibits weak and distorted semantic and formal density and contains strong violent stimuli. Although their potential for political critique remains limited, they exhibit frivolity and aggression rather than a coherent ideology or clear purpose. Various forms of discrimination were identified in 46% of the analyzed posts. These hostile discourses targeting groups such as women, LGBTQ individuals, and ethnic communities suggest potential links to extreme right and incel ideologies, likely fueled by a misanthropic, nihilistic worldview.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kaynakça

  1. Akçay Balcı, D. & Karaman, M. (2022). Üniversite öğrencilerinin görsel okuryazarlık düzeylerinin capsler üzerinden incelenmesi. Akademik Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, (132), 165-184. https://doi.org/10.29228/ASOS.63856. google scholar
  2. Akpınar, M. E. (2025). A feminist and masculinist perspective on incel culture. 4. BOYUT Medya ve Kültürel Çalışmalar Dergisi, (26), 146–158. https://doi.org/10.26650/4boyut.2025.1641045. google scholar
  3. Aktaş, Ö. (2016). Bir iletişim yöntemi olarak caps/memes. İnönü Üniversitesi Sanat ve Tasarım Dergisi, 6(14), 1–14. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/398240. google scholar
  4. Alejandro S. & Blanco, U. (2021). Shitposting and memeculture: An aesthetic politics of techno-coloniality?. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3839267. google scholar
  5. Arslan, A. S. (2017). Geleneğin yeniden üretimi ve tüketimi kapsamında bir deneme: Sosyal medya ve mizah. In M. Özarslan (Ed.), III. uluslararası genç halkbilimciler sempozyumu bildirileri (pp. 22–39) Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/107272321/III_Uluslararasi_Genc_Halkbilimciler_Sempozyumu_Bildirileri. google scholar
  6. Aytekin, Ç., Gulmammadzada, U. & Aghayev, H. (2023). Covid-19 aşı karşıtlığı tutumunda çok yüksek etkileşime sahip trollerin ortak özelliklerini belirlemeye ilişkin bir araştırma. Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, (42), 19–38. https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.1121642. google scholar
  7. Balcı Aydoğan, B. & Abuşoğlu H. Ö. (2022). Capslerde yeni neslin “öteki”si: Yaşlılar. Manisa Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 20(3), 41–60. https://doi.org/10.18026/cbayarsos.1068422. google scholar
  8. Barlas Bozkuş, Ş. (2016). Pop polyvocality and internet memes: As a reflection of socio-political discourse of Turkish youth in social media. Global Media Journal TR Edition, 6(12), 44–74. Retrieved from https://globalmediajournaltr.yeditepe.edu.tr/sites/default/files/sayilar/2016_bahar/03_seyda_barlas_bozkus.pdf. google scholar

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

İletişim Çalışmaları, Sosyal Medya Uygulamaları ve Analizi, Yeni Medya

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yayımlanma Tarihi

8 Temmuz 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

14 Ekim 2024

Kabul Tarihi

14 Mayıs 2026

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Sayı: 70

Kaynak Göster

APA
Demirci, B. (2026). ’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, 70, 62-84. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2026-1566839
AMA
1.Demirci B. ’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2026;(70):62-84. doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2026-1566839
Chicago
Demirci, Buğrahan. 2026. “’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, sy 70: 62-84. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2026-1566839.
EndNote
Demirci B (01 Temmuz 2026) ’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences 70 62–84.
IEEE
[1]B. Demirci, “’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts”, Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, sy 70, ss. 62–84, Tem. 2026, doi: 10.26650/CONNECTIST2026-1566839.
ISNAD
Demirci, Buğrahan. “’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 70 (01 Temmuz 2026): 62-84. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2026-1566839.
JAMA
1.Demirci B. ’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2026;:62–84.
MLA
Demirci, Buğrahan. “’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, sy 70, Temmuz 2026, ss. 62-84, doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2026-1566839.
Vancouver
1.Buğrahan Demirci. ’Meaningful, ambiguous or meaningless?’: Communicative disruption, cynicism and hate in Turkish Instagram shitposts. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 01 Temmuz 2026;(70):62-84. doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2026-1566839