Propaganda in the 2023 general elections

The history of propaganda, whose importance is increasing day by day, is as old as human history. In literature, propaganda is defined as a set of activities enriched with many written, visual, auditory and technological tools such as books, newspapers, magazines, pictures, posters, television and the internet in order to introduce an idea, doctrine, ideology, thought or belief to the masses, to have them accepted or to spread them among the people. Propaganda has been frequently used since the earliest periods of history for the purposes of gathering people around an ideal, convincing the society for a war, demoralizing the opponent in a war, spreading a belief or providing political support during election periods. Over time, when its effect on the masses was understood, scientific studies were conducted on it and propaganda became systematic. Today, it is known that scientific studies on propaganda are conducted in many fields, especially in art, politics, public relations, sociology, international relations and military studies. Propaganda; The fact that it is supported by many written, visual, auditory and technological tools such as cinema, television, posters, radio, books, newspapers, magazines, the internet and internet-based artificial intelligence has increased its effectiveness and persuasive power today tremendously. In the last few centuries, propaganda has become an indispensable element of politics due to the increase in democracies and the determination of governments by elections. In our country, the effectiveness of political propaganda has increased with the transition to multi-party life and in all elections held since then, political party leaders who participated in the elections have used political propaganda meticulously. This study aims to explain the political propaganda activities carried out by the presidential candidates and political party leaders who participated in the elections held in May 2023. In the study, a literature review was first conducted to collect information, and then the speeches of the presidential candidates and party leaders who participated in the elections at rallies and television programs and the election declarations of the leaders were examined. In addition, information related to the subject was compiled from the websites of the parties and leaders. Keywords: Propaganda, Political Propaganda, 2023 Elections, Electoral Alliances