Social media as a political communication tool: Twitter uses of İzmir Metropolitan Municipal Presidency AK Party and CHP candidates in the 2019 local elections

In this study conducted to determine how social media is used as a political communication tool, CHP candidate Mustafa Tunç Soyer and AKP candidate Nihat Zeybekci, who ran their candidacy for Izmir Metropolitan Municipality in the local elections held on March 31, 2019 Shares are discussed. Candidates' Twitter accounts were analyzed with content analysis method in the form of retrospective scanning in the specified time period. The findings obtained were interpreted by supporting them with graphics, pictures and tables. Accordingly, it has been observed that both candidates use their personal Twitter accounts as a mass communication tool in which they run their political election campaigns, and they make extensive use of both visual elements and various features of Twitter to convince the voters. In addition, it is observed that Mustafa Tunç Soyer, one of the candidates, uses Twitter more intensely than Nihat Zeybekci, while two-way communication specific to social media is not actively used by both candidates, and communication is mostly carried out in the form of one-way information sharing. Keywords: Politics, Political Communication, Social Media, Twitter.