Concerns about social media manipulation ahead of May 14 vote in Türkiye

Türkiye has been at the receiving end of several disinformation campaigns of late, with fake social media handles creating hashtags to spread panic during the February 6 earthquakes and fake news disrupting the relief and rescue efforts during the 2021 wildfires.

As the important May 14 vote is just a few days away, Turkish officials and voters are concerned about social media manipulation impacting the elections.

There have already been signs to suggest that such concerns are not misplaced.

A recent fake news campaign about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's health created confusion, and it only subsided after an official statement from the Directorate of Communications for clarity.

Moreover, local news outlets have been reporting about the discovery of six "troll networks" consisting of 121 fake profiles working on behalf of Turkish opposition party the CHP.

These troll armies have been accused of not only spreading disinformation but also inciting hate against ethnic groups while at the same time manipulating perception regarding the integrity of the ballot box.

Social media accounts of these networks were constantly resharing each other's posts, getting more interaction and reaching out to bigger audiences.

The accounts on the networks change their usernames and content concepts periodically to make sure that they are not limited to a single type of audience and spread across the entire network. So, the networks reach different demographic structures.

The troll accounts that advertise various companies also frequently cooperate with illegal betting sites. With the election just around the corner, which is expected to go down to the wire, social media manipulation presents a legitimate threat and deserves to be monitored closely.

Rise of social media

The rise of social media has led to new opportunities and greater challenges in communications, especially in the dissemination of news.

It has also given rise to foreign interference aimed at influencing domestic opinion. Some prominent examples of influencing elections can be found in the cases of the United States, Kenya and the Brexit referendum vote.

It brings to question the role of the 'big tech'.

The release of the "Twitter Files" shows how these major tech players can influence an election process by suppressing and censoring posts, banning users and through biased content moderation.

Troll armies made up of fake social media profiles can quickly launch disinformation campaigns and harass targeted social media users.

Data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica was accused of harvesting the Facebook profiles of millions of US voters and building software programs to influence their choices at the ballot box during the 2016 US elections.

Even the chief of Meta Platforms, Mark Zuckerberg, acknowledged so.

"It has also become clear over the last couple of years that we have not done enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well," he said.

"That goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections, and developers misusing people's information."