AKP might or might not be paying for the recent campaigns of insult and abuse on critics, but there is no doubt that Erdogan, who boasts of “setting up the news agenda,” is now keen to dominate the social media, too. As the 2014 elections approach, the social media offensive of the emerging “conservative industrial complex” is generating the risk of [...] → Read the full article…
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly accused the Western press of reporting “lies” that misrepresent Turkey. Now his government has decided to tell its own side of the story – reaching foreign audiences directly by setting up an English-language television channel. According to the spokesman of state broadcasting company, TRT, the English-language channel is the most expensive project [...] → Read the full article…
Turkey’s ruling party, facing the threat of fresh anti-government demonstrations, is boosting its presence in a sphere long dominated by the opposition: social media. The Justice and Development Party, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is recruiting a 6,000-member social-media team to woo citizens and fight critics, party officials said. The AKP is gradually bringing young, tech-savvy party members to [...] → Read the full article…
Neoliberalism, Illegality, and State of Exception in Turkey The Gezi Park protests, and the state response to them, have crystallized larger dynamics in Turkey. These include recent legal changes and their contribution to the institutionalization of neoliberalism, centralization of powers, allegations of cronyism, authoritarianism, and encroachment on professional independence and labor rights. Overall, these protests offer a valuable opportunity to [...] → Read the full article…
The wave of resistance that started at Gezi Park on the 29. of May in Istanbul and has since spread all over Turkey once again revealed a deep connection between real time communication on social media and social movements. Throughout the protests, social media platforms have become the primary news source in this environment where the mainstream media have proven [...] → Read the full article…
Reminding that 3 policemen were suspended within an investigation and announcing today’s general strikes as “illegal”, Interior Minister Muammer Güler said they are working on social media. Interior Minister Muammer Güler made a statement on the Gezi Resistance. “We are working on the social media. We believe we need to do some legal regulations there,” he said. Some [...] → Read the full article…