Intense competition between Turkish local election candidates on social media platforms (Shutterstock)

Istanbul -

The virtual world in Turkey is restless and does not know electoral silence, and no real political scene is complete without its presence. In the last hours before 61.5 million Turkish citizens went to the polls; To choose who will manage their affairs and represent them in 1,393 municipalities over which 34 political parties are competing, the communication platforms are still as vibrant as they were over the past period.

What is the extent and form of its presence in Turkish society? What is its role in the electoral conflict?

According to experts, social media occupies a large and growing place in Turkish society day after day. The percentage of its users is 74% of the total population (i.e. more than 63 million).

Politics kitchen

These millions are distributed across multiple different platforms, often determined by the purpose and form of use. While the “X” platform is described as the kitchen of politics and its fertile ground, Instagram and TikTok have a mixed character that is dominated by lack of seriousness and closer proximity to the new generation and women.

In this context, journalist and academic Furkan Bulukbaşı - who owns one of the most important active accounts on various platforms - confirms that all political actors are interested in and seek to be strong and visible on the X platform, and it is assumed that society’s opinions are formed on that platform.

He added to Al Jazeera Net, "The X platform is the kitchen of politics and has wide influence and role, especially in major cities."

Most of the announced and unannounced opinion polls on the results of the Istanbul municipal elections say that the percentages are very close between the Justice and Development Party candidate Murat Kurum and the Republican People's Party candidate Ekrem Imamoglu, the current mayor. The difference does not exceed 0.5%, and the winner will not exceed 42.5% at best.


And since…

- Abdul-Azim Muhammad (@AbduladheemM) March 30, 2024

He continued, "We can say that supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are the minority there, because of the intensity and level of political and propaganda performance there. Most supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party cannot keep up with the extent of deviation from the truth and decency there, so they choose silence or leave the platform."

In turn, the specialist in technology and social media, journalist Muhammad Beneji, says, “The presence of social media in the depths of Turkish society is increasing day after day, but there is a danger and facts that confirm the danger of manipulating society and shaping public opinion due to the management of these platforms in which there is no local administration.”

He continues, "Media algorithms facilitate the process of unlimited access, and influence the formation of thoughts and behaviors as a result of imaginative content and interactions, and this can have a significant impact, especially on younger generations."

Beneji added to Al Jazeera that the means of communication and the strong presence therein are considered an integral part of modern political action. He stressed that expanding and enhancing presence on the platforms is a permanent goal for all political components, citing the launch of the ruling party’s candidate, Murat Kurum, through the “X” platform, by publishing his pictures or messages to voters.

The final hours of the municipal elections in Turkey..


Political polarization is at its peak, and all reasonable and unreasonable slogans are presented to win the fund..


There is a permissibility of lying and a permissibility of all standards for the sake of the voter’s eyes..


Some people take off clothes they have always worn to wear others for the sake of the fund, even if they are not tailored properly. …

- Ahmad Hasan (@binaasorya) March 30, 2024

strategy

As for the academic and journalist Bulukbaşı, he confirms that each political party builds its electoral campaign on a different strategy depending on the electoral region, the position of the opponent in it, the nature of society, and most importantly the platforms most used in it, and the most appropriate language of speech.

He adds that one of the most important things a candidate must do to reach and collect votes is to obtain the support of digital opinion leaders, and avoid confronting them.

Regarding the form of the parties’ use of communication platforms, Bulukbaşı says, “We notice during this period that the parties determine their audience, then choose the appropriate mechanism for them, and choose the appropriate accounts and channels to reach that group.”

He pointed out that he noticed intelligence in the campaigns, especially those aimed at reaching opposition groups, as they used channels and opinion leaders close to that group, such as a leftist party that gives messages from the mosque, or an Islamic party that addresses other groups of society through their convictions, culture, and well-known people.

For his part, specialist Muhammad Beneji explained that political competition in Turkey is intense and intense, especially in recent years, and all of this is reflected in the message, style, and materials of each party, and the parties are working to diversify their messages, content, and the image they want to convey to the public.

Beneji stressed that there is another task that can be observed in light of high polarization, as each party must protect itself and its supporters from the propaganda of other parties, and it also undertakes the task of confronting and responding to the campaigns and propaganda of the competing party.

He continued, "The critical content is an important part of the prepared content, in fact a dominant part, and we notice its presence sharply and hotly. Many of the parties' messages and campaigns are constructed, but rather they catch a mistake or a specific loophole in the competing party and focus on it, and market themselves through that."

#Turkey enters #electoral silence at 6:00 pm local time. pic.twitter.com/LheS8NUvK9

— M. Sıddık Yıldırım (Muhammad Siddiq Yildirim) 🇹🇷 (@SIDDIKYILDIRIMM) March 30, 2024

Absence stage

According to his follow-up of the performance of political parties during the recent period, academic and journalist Furkan Bulukbaşı believes that the “X” platform is at the forefront of political platforms in electoral campaigns, and is witnessing sensitive and influential electoral and ideological battles in engineering the public, reaching the voter and convincing them, or attacking and criticizing the violator.

In this context, journalist Beneji says, quoting a comment from one of his followers, “We are running from one platform to another, as if these advertising campaigns are watching us and are following us,” noting that “this is part of the observation of the average citizen, and I think it expresses the amount of focus and competition, as communication platforms may change and restore Building many convictions. He believes that the X platform, Instagram, and Facebook are the most important platforms that parties focus on in pumping out their content according to the characteristics of each platform.

“Video-focused platforms such as TikTok and YouTube are gaining importance as platforms where young people are more present, and the point of superiority of any party over the other is related to the party’s election campaign strategies and the form of social media management, which is a relative issue,” Beneji added.

In the Turkish state of #Eskisehir, a 35-year-old candidate kissed the hand of his 83-year-old competitor, according to Turkish customs and traditions..# Municipal_elections_in_Turkey #Local_elections_in_Turkey pic.twitter.com/OcPfC5lre3

- Guzel (@guzel_olalim) March 31, 2024

Regarding the extent of the impact of the campaigns that were implemented and the factors behind that influence, academic Furkan Bulukbaşı confirms that the public under the age of 40 no longer follows or knows ineffective politicians in the digital world.

He explained, "I believe that we are facing the stage of the absence of traditional opinion leaders, and whoever does not develop his vision and presence accordingly and create opinion leaders and digital influencers will lose, and I believe that the ruling party paid attention to this late, especially in the first policy platform ".

Journalist Beneji concluded, “At this stage, we have witnessed a decline; the coming years will further decline the influence of traditional media of all kinds, and the important factor will remain the reality that communication platforms work to reflect without cosmetics and directly through citizen journalism, and this makes the equation difficult for politicians and the message maker who is to be linked.” Between the real and the virtual.

Source: Al Jazeera