Perception management in social media: The example of Health Minister Fahrettin Koca's Twitter postings in the COVID-19 pandemic process

Perception means to realize, to be aware. Perception management, on the other hand, is persuading the targeted society to think and believe in the desired way. Perception management shapes our lives in this sense. All kinds of factors that affect attitudes and behaviors can be used to perform perception management. In the age of technology, social media is one of the areas where perception management is done the most. Social movements and social events cannot be considered independently of social media. Considering that perception management is the art of persuasion and influencing, we can say that social media is one of the best tools to be used for this purpose. In terms of people and institutions that carry out perception management, social media has both facilitated access to the target audience and made it cheaper due to its low cost. Social media also has an agenda setting function. This is important for perception management. In this study, perception management in social media was studied, and the example of the Ministry of Health vaccination campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic period was discussed in this context. Twitter shares of Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, regarding the Covid-19 vaccine campaign, were analyzed using the content analysis method. According to the research findings, it was concluded that the Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca used his Twitter account effectively and actively to create and direct perceptions. In this sense, the Minister of Health has shown an example of digital leadership. Keywords: Social Media, Twitter, Perception Management, Perception Management in Social Media, Pandemic, Covid-19, Covid-19 Vaccine, Vaccine Campaign, Ministry of Health, Fahrettin Koca