Becoming an Independent Voice in Turkey Is Harder, as Many Accounts Are Banned Every Day

The interview with ERKAN SAKA, professor at Istanbul Bilgi University, examines the reasons behind the use of different social media platforms and their user demographics, as well as the potential for domestic and external influence through social media amid Turkish authorities' strict control over platforms.

- Which social media platforms are most widely used by residents of Turkey? And what factors influence people’s choice of these platforms?

E.S. - I think there are always some statistics that you can easily find, like the usage rates (of social networks - ed.). But sometimes it is hard to get the meaning out of them. Probably Facebook is still number one in terms of usage, followed by Instagram or WhatsApp.

But sometimes it is important to have a look at demographics, too. To begin with, I would say Facebook, especially for the older generations, is very helpful and influential. Most of the news circulates through Facebook groups.

But even among the older generations, now people are moving to WhatsApp. So, although WhatsApp was not listed as a social media platform before, I think it is becoming a platform, sort of. Especially the group functionality is critical.

I think everyone is on Instagram, but Instagram's affordances are not always helpful to act like a social platform. But still, especially during big events, Instagram is available. It's never as politicized as Facebook or WhatsApp groups or Twitter, but still, it's out there.

TikTok, interestingly, is a big deal. Not for everyone, but I realize that I could get lots of journalistic raw data from TikTok, too. It's not only for influencers, but especially after a big event or a state of emergency (an earthquake or something), people take photos, videos, and upload them. And because of its algorithms, sometimes, without many followers, you can become really viral. And because of this some society groups use TikTok.

I don't think that it's at the top in terms of usage, but it is still effective among some circles. By “circles,” I mean that most of the influencers or most-followed people were sort of located in big cities. But TikTok has different demographics. For the first time, it could penetrate other towns, rural areas, or among workers, et cetera. In that sense, it plays some role.

I would say that among the more educated urban young people now, Reddit is gaining some currency. Reddit is an old platform, but it was never really popular in Turkey because maybe it already had a local equivalent.

Maybe you are familiar with Ekşi Sözlük, or maybe not. Ekşi Sözlük was so big and so influential that people did not care about Reddit. But since Ekşi Sözlük is now losing its popularity and is also heavily regulated by the government, people now look to Reddit.

- Who is currently winning the competition for public attention: traditional media (television, online/print media) or social networks? Which communication channels do the government, opposition groups, and civil society representatives prefer to use when addressing the public, especially during critical periods such as elections, political and other crises, or when sharing urgent news?

E.S. - Traditional media is also sort of integrated into social media. So it's hard to even exactly differentiate them. But I would say that most people get the news through social media, on some platforms.

I haven't mentioned X before. It really lost most of its impact after Elon Musk bought it. But still, in times of emergency, Twitter may be used, and it is used. But interestingly, there is this sort of merge. I follow some journalists who are also trying to work in the more traditional media outlets, some lost their jobs, some not.

But in any case, now, in terms of news, journalists also gain currency on social media platforms. Of course, there are also non-journalists, citizens, some of whom can become opinion makers.

It was easier a few years ago. Now, it is very heavily regulated. So it's harder to become an independent voice. Many accounts are banned every day.

So social media seems to still have real power. People open new accounts anonymously. Most of the time, social platforms give in to government pressure. But still, there is this space there that can be important.

During the pandemic, when people were at home, they were still basically watching the news. I haven’t seen any really good research that compares these. But based on some observations, these media outlets outside the big cities still play a role in shaping the political or current agenda to some extent.

But I would say, in the final analysis, social media is more powerful.

- Which groups (government officials, political party leaders, civil society organizations) are the most active users of social media in your country? For whom has social media become a primary tool of communication?

I think everyone, basically. Some can make it better. I would say that civil society took the initiative. But because of heavy regulations and censorship, their role sort of diminished.

From the outset, the ruling party AKP also invested heavily in social media. I mean, not only in trolling activities, but officially as well. When I look back over the last 20 years, I understand that they knew about its power.

But in terms of independent newsmaking or opinion leadership, etc., at first, civil society had more advantage. Now, I would say it's sort of equal. This is because of the pressures and regulations, and platforms are very hesitant. They don't want to really anger the government.

But being active doesn't mean being effective. Most of the political leaders don’t use social media very efficiently, even if they invest. Sometimes they turn it into a traditional media type of content. I would say that most of the time, even the opposition party leaders were not very successful.

I think Imamoglu did it better (he was the main political opponent of the president of Turkey, R. Erdogan - ed.), but he is in prison now.

- How does your country experience Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) and other forms of public opinion manipulation in practice? What role do social networks play in these hybrid attacks and in efforts to counter them?

E.S. - It's a complicated question. There have been some reports on Russian interventions. There are documented cases of how Russia intervened in US elections or some European Union elections. As far as I could observe, read, or find, I couldn't find direct evidence of an intervention like that in Turkey.

Some scientific studies show that, on some Russian official accounts like Sputnik TV's, there was a tendency to sort of criticize, for example, the German vaccination, and even circulate some conspiratorial elements and then support the Sputnik vaccination by the Russians. But this seems to be more direct and explicit. There were too many trolling activities inside Turkey by local actors, both by the government and opposition figures.

Apart from that, I think since social media is heavily regulated, foreign intervention is limited. I would say that foreign intervention mostly happens directly, not implicitly, not only by Russians, but also by other Western outlets. Deutsche Welle, for example, was very effective in Turkey. It has a big office and a Turkish branch. Similarly effective is BBC Turkish. People use their accounts a lot to get information. And I mean, these are foreign news outlets that may have an agenda and may shape common sense.

That's how I see it. Because of the lack of credible media outlets within Turkey, maybe, Turkish users increasingly rely on foreign outlets of all sorts, including Chinese ones. Now, the Chinese are also here. I see their Turkish accounts, from the Russians to the more Western sources. And sometimes, when the government is too annoyed, they censor these too.

As far as I know, Deutsche Welle has been banned in Turkey for a long while. Sputnik wasn't banned in Turkey because of, I think, better relations between Turkey and Russia. But it's always possible that if the government sees it as a threat, then they can ban the platform.

This video was produced with the financial support of the European Union and the German Marshall Fund of the United States Transatlantic Foundation (GMF TF). Its contents are the sole responsibility of the “Region” Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the GMF TF.