The utilization of digital platforms and social media as tools for Turkish politics: The period of 2002-2020

Social media and digital platforms are an indispensable part of our lives today. It is used for many purposes from activities such as simple communication, getting news to watching content for entertainment purposes, and it covers an important part of our daily life. As a result of the pandemic, digitalization accelerated in almost every field and in near future, we will meet not on the social media and digital platforms but even in the Metaverse for many social activities. While this is the case, it is inevitable that these tools will be instrumentalized by national and international actors. In particular, examples such as the Cambridge Analytica Scandal or the Russia-Ukraine War in the recent past, reveal the seriousness of the possibilities in this direction. In this framework, both in Turkish foreign policy and domestic politics, social media and digital platforms can be used to measure the pulse of the society, to establish a link between the civil and political wing of the society, to engage in perception management activities, while preserving fundamental rights and freedoms. In this regard, the interest of political actors in our country towards social media and digital platforms has increased for about 10 years. For example, in the 2019 Local Elections, it is argued that the mentioned platforms play a positive role in the image-building processes of new candidates. Besides, considering that the younger generations born almost into technology, will become active in political decision-making processes in the short term, the importance of the relevant platforms in Turkish politics will increase.