Abstract
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Soliciting Terror: ISKP Digital Communications and Financing Tactics Through Voice of Khurasan
Sunday, November 17, 2024
A Hashtag Perspective: Examining ISIS Supporter Activities on Twitter in Türkiye between 2019 and 2022
This study explores the Twitter activities of Turkish supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from 2019 to 2022, focusing on hashtag usage patterns. As a central part of ISIS's online strategy, hashtags are pivotal in disseminating propaganda, coordinating campaigns, and soliciting support. By analyzing 202,327 tweets, this research offers insights into thematic priorities and interconnections within ISIS-related discourse. Employing descriptive and network analyses, key findings reveal a steady increase in ISIS-supportive tweets, the emergence of clusters around aid and familial support, and distinct, unconnected hashtag groups reflecting various narratives. Hashtags related to financial aid, such as #saveprisoners and #elholcamp, emerge as central, highlighting a covert system of funding through social media and encrypted communication. This paper underscores the complexity of ISIS's digital influence in Türkiye, emphasizing the need for multifaceted countermeasures involving tech platforms, security forces, and media awareness campaigns to combat online extremist activities effectively.
Monday, August 26, 2024
Bridging Disciplinary Gaps and Methodological Challenges in Understanding Deepfake Discourse: A Study of Turkish Reddit Posts Related to Deepfake
Abstract
This study explores the evolving landscape of deepfake discussions, focusing particularly on Turkish posts on Reddit. While deepfake technology gained prominence in 2017, the academic community's interest surged, with studies primarily concentrating on deepfake detection. However, there is a dearth of research on public perceptions and online discourse surrounding deepfake. Through text analysis, this study explores Turkish Reddit posts, uncovering that a substantial portion (69.4%) focuses on deepfakes with sexual content, particularly featuring celebrities (60.2%). Politics also emerges as a prominent theme, constituting 22% of the content, with an additional 8.6% dedicated to technical aspects of deepfake creation. Over time, posts on sexual deepfake content, particularly those featuring celebrities, dominate, but during the May 2023 presidential and general elections, political deepfakes gained traction. Despite shedding light on content trends, the study faces two significant limitations. The first limitation is methodological. Studies relying solely on text analysis struggle to offer comprehensive insights into people's perceptions of deepfake. Therefore, a more profound understanding can be attained through qualitative face-to-face interviews, allowing for a deeper exploration of individuals' perspectives. The second limitation is disciplinary. Research encompassing diverse disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and media studies would yield more nuanced results in comprehending both the broader framework of public and societal perceptions on the topic and their deeper intricacies.
Key words: Deepfake, Türkiye, Reddit, Interdisciplinary Approach, Dictionary-based Text Analysis, Mixed Methods
Link: https://ojs.library.carleton.ca/index.php/J-ICSLAC/article/view/4839/3551
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Comparative Analysis of the Content of Online Magazines of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Different Languages: Dabiq, Rumiyah, and Konstantiniyye
Abstract
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) effectively uses online magazines for propaganda, leveraging advanced internet technologies to disseminate its message in multiple languages. This study investigates ISIS's use of online magazines to promote its self-proclaimed jihad and attract recruits globally. While existing research examines ISIS's multilingual magazines, few studies comprehensively compare them across languages. This study conducts a text analysis of Dabiq and Rumiyah in English and Konstantiniyye in Turkish. The findings reveal that all magazines construct distinct “us” versus “them” identities, focusing on religion and justification. Konstantiniyye, targeting Turkish Muslims, emphasizes stronger religious themes compared to Dabiq and Rumiyah. Overall, these magazines discuss legal systems, jihad, state structure, and social order, advocating for Muslim unification under a single “caliphate.” This analysis sheds light on ISIS's diverse propaganda strategies tailored to different linguistic contexts.
Keywords: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS); Dictionary-based Analysis; Dabiq; Rumiyah; Konstantiniyye
LINK: https://journals.tplondon.com/ipr/article/view/3313
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
A Hashtag Perspective: Examining ISIS Supporter Activities on Twitter in Türkiye between 2019 and 2022
Recent advancements in social media technologies have significantly impacted both individuals and terrorist organizations. This study examines the Twitter activities of ISIS's Turkish supporters from 2019 to 2022, focusing on the hashtags they used. The study employs a hashtag network analysis to explore the relationships and central themes among the hashtags used in 202,327 tweets by 666 different users. The analysis reveals a central cluster of hashtags related to various forms of aid, particularly financial support, often connected with hashtags like #elholcamp and #yoursisterinprisoncamp, which pertain to families of ISIS members detained in YPG-controlled camps. Additionally, Turkish supporters of ISIS solicit financial aid via Twitter, phone numbers, and Telegram, using religious hadiths to legitimize their efforts. The findings underscore the sophisticated use of social media by ISIS supporters to sustain their activities in Türkiye and beyond, highlighting the need for a multifaceted response involving tech companies, security forces, local communities, and the media. This collaboration is crucial to detect, report, and mitigate the misuse of social media for terrorist purposes and to educate the public about these activities.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
A Comprehensive Analysis of Public Discourse and Content Trends in Turkish Reddit Posts Related to Deepfake
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the content and changes in deepfakes-related discussions on 5,220 Turkish Reddit posts from October 2019 to August 2023. Although the academic community has shown an increasing interest in deepfakes since 2017, focusing on detection methods and the technology itself, scant attention has been paid to public perceptions and online debate. The analysis reveals that 69.4% of the examined posts feature deepfake content with sexual themes, with celebrity women being the primary targets in 60.2% of cases. In contrast, 22% of the content is about politics and political figures, while 8.6% provides technical guidance on creating deepfakes. The study also observes content changes over time, noticing a rise in sexually explicit deepfake posts, particularly involving celebrities. However, in May 2023, coinciding with the presidential and general elections in Türkiye, discussions about politics and political figures have significantly increased. This study sheds light on the changing landscape of discussions, emphasizing the predominant presence of sexual content and the increasing prevalence of political content, particularly during election seasons.
LINK: https://iga.pknu.ac.kr:446/html/jga/online-jga.php?mode=view&idx=28
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Constructivism, Identity, and Discourse in Terrorism
Abstract
Terrorism is a phenomenon with a long history. Scholars from many different disciplines research terrorism. One of the disciplines studying the phenomenon of terrorism is International Relations. Significantly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the discipline's interest in terrorism increased dramatically. However, increasing academic studies since the early 2000s did not lead to an increase in the contribution of the field to Terrorism Studies. The state-centric perspective of Neorealism and Neoliberalism is a fundamental reason behind this problem. Constructivism offers an alternative to the state-centric view. In this context, I examine the role of identity and discourse on terrorism by adopting the Constructivist perspective. Within this scope, the manifestos of eight different terrorists within three various terrorist organizations were examined. In parallel, news about the terrorists whose manifestos were examined was analyzed. Using text analysis, results suggest that both terrorists and the media divide the world into two "us" and "them." The results of this study provide interesting insights and empirical implications on International Relations. In this research, I give an overview of this research area. I then discuss this research's primary results and explain why the Constructivist approach, identity, and discourse are essential in terrorism research.Thursday, August 31, 2023
Comparison of Turkish and English-Speaking ISIS Sympathizers’ Twitter Content between 2015 and 2016
Abstract
The development of social media technologies has had a significant impact on individuals, organizations and societies. However, social media has not only affected people and communities, but also terrorist organizations have started to use social media platforms effectively. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is one such group that actively utilizes social media. Social media has played a critical role in formulating and disseminating ISIS’s strategies. Twitter is one of the most effective social media platforms used by ISIS, and it actively uses Twitter in predominantly Muslim countries such as Turkey. In this article, I use a dictionary-based method to compare and analyze 29,419 tweets from English-speaking supporters of ISIS and 40,526 tweets from Turkish supporters of ISIS between 2015 and 2016.
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Terrorism-Related Topic In The Language Of Fake News In Indonesia
The discussion on the relations between terrorism and social media mainly focuses on social media's role in spreading terrorism ideology and recruiting a member of the terrorist group. However, social media has also become means to share fake news related to terrorism. Considering the relationship between fake news and terrorism, the primary purpose of this study is to examine the content, language used, and emotion of fake news about terrorism in Indonesia. It also revelas what kind of language is used in fake news to manipulate the public and what emotions it appeals to? We analyzed fake news about terrorism in Indonesia using quantitative text analysis methods, such as sentiment analysis and dictionary-based analysis methods with R statistical software. We created two dictionaries covering religious and violent words, and fake news was examined under these two dictionaries. For reliability, we applied the "Split-half test" to the results and we reached similar results. This study shows that ISIS, Aceh, and terrorist action in Sulawesi are three dominant topics in fake news. Second, the language on fake news is mostly about terrorism and violence to create fear in society. Third, violence and religious language are equal in the language of misleading content. We interpreted the results obtained with the traditional fear of crime theory. We then discussed the significant results of this research and made effort to explain the reasons behind our research results. The study has a limitation because of the small number of fake news. Future studies may overcome this limitation by selecting multiple countries as cases or increasing the data range of fake news. The dictionary-based method we used in this study is relatively new to the literature and provides the opportunity to analyze fake news content effectively. Our results using the Dictionary-based method can provide valuable clues for policymakers in the counter-terrorism field.
Link: https://ejournal.upnvj.ac.id/index.php/JM/article/view/MJIHI%20_01
Monday, January 2, 2023
Examining ISIS's Turkish Sympathizers on Twitter
Abstract
Social media platforms have become a part of people's daily lives. However, developing social media technologies have affected not only people but also terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and social media has become an essential part of ISIS's strategies. ISIS effectively uses many social media platforms, especially Twitter, for propaganda, recruitment, and creating fear among people. ISIS also actively uses Twitter in Turkey. However, the number of academic studies focusing on the behavior, structure, communication, and relationship networks of ISIS sympathizers in Turkey is limited. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to reveal the structure, behavior, communication, and relationship networks of ISIS's Turkish sympathizers. Accordingly, this study focuses on the structure, behavior, communication, and relationship networks of ISIS's Turkish sympathizers. I will analyze them within four main analytical steps. The basic characteristics, structures, behaviors, and relationship networks of 2079 Turkish ISIS sympathizers are examined with the R computer program, and many remarkable findings are reached as a result of the analysis.
Keywords: ISIS' Turkish Supporters, Twitter Analysis, Network Analysis, Correlation Analysis, Social Media
LINK: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/icps/issue/74445/1183919
Monday, June 28, 2021
SentiStrength
SentiStrength is a software
program that analyzes sentiment. SentiStrength gives sentiment results in three
types. First, it gives us the results in binary form. In other words, it gives
the sentiment results as positive or negative. Second, it gives it as a
trinary. That is, the results are presented as positive, negative or neutral. Finally,
it gives sentiment results as a single scale. In other words, sentiment results
are given on a scale between -5 and +5. SentiStrength supports many languages
such as German, English, Finnish and Turkish and is capable of sentiment
analysis of texts written in these languages. The SentiStrength program is
completely free.
10108 tweets about online food
ordering services are analyzed with the SentiStrength program to explain this
software in depth. The main problem we encounter at this stage is that the
SentiStrength program only accepts documents with the ".txt"
extension. If the text you want to analyze is ".xlsx" extended, you
should deal with this issue first. Unfortunately, the file I would to analyse
has the ".xlsx" extension. For this reason, I will first convert the
section I want to examine in the excel file to .txt format. In this context,
delete the sections except the section we want to analyze, and only the column
we want to analyze remains in our file. In the next step, we need to remove the
duplicates to avoid recounting the same tweets. In Excel, we can remove
duplicates using the “Data-> Remove Duplicates” function. The logo you see
marked is the logo that belongs to the "remove duplicates" function.
Then save our excel file, which
we cleaned from repetitions, as unicode text (.txt). In the next step, open the
SentiStrength program and select the "Analyze ALL Texts in File (each line
separately)" function in the "Sentiment Strength Analysis"
section.
Next, let's select the .txt file
we want to analyze. Before the analysis starts, SentiStrength will ask if you
want to add a header line to the resulting file, and we need to select
"Yes". SentiStrength will ask us which column to use for analysis and
we can directly write "1" here.
If this image occurs, it means
that our analysis is complete. However, at this stage, the problem we
encountered at the beginning reoccurs. The results are saved on our computer
with the .txt extension.
It will be useful to copy and
paste the results with .txt extension to the excel file so that we can see the
results more clearly.
At the last stage, we will have
an excel file with 5 columns such as positive, negative and EmotionRationale. When
we look at the results, it is seen that there are many -1 and +1. -1 means not
negative or neutral. +1 means not positive or neutral. Between 2 and 4 is
positive and 5 is extremly positive. On the other hand, between -2 and -4 is
negative and -5 is extremely negative.
Finally, we can add another
column named "score" next to the negative and positive columns in the
excel file and see the general sentiment result. For this process, we need to
use the following formula; "=C2+D2". The results we get with this formula will
give the overall result of each tweet we analyzed.
Thursday, October 22, 2020
ISIS Religious and Extremist Propaganda on Social Media: Dictionary-Based Study of Twitter
Abstract
The world had faced with many terrorist organizations until 2014. However, after 2014, the world faced with the most complicated terrorist organization. This terrorist organization is ISIS or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIS has been running a more different propaganda campaign, emphasizing the state-building and welfare schemes run by this organization and these elements make ISIS more complicated. ISIS has been very well integrated into the new technology such as social media and smartphone and ISIS has been using them very effectively. Especially Twitter has become a major component of ISIS social media movement. Twitter was used to spread sensationalistic ISIS photos and videos across the Twitter users. While ISIS spread fear and messages on twitter, at the same time it also gained supporters. However, it is seen that ISIS’ sympathizer uses different jargons in terms of their number of followers in twitter. As a result of my research, I found that users with more followers used a stronger violence jargon on Twitter, while users with fewer followers using a softer and more religious language. Users with less followers were an emphasis on unity and religion, while users with more followers encouraging physical violence such as lone wolf attacks and killing enemy appeared more often on Twitter. Dictionary-based analysis of ISIS' and its sympathizers' tweets were performed. This dictionary-based research creates a typology to explain and categorize tweets from ISIS and its followers. For reliability, "Split-half test" was applied to the results and similar results were reached.
Keywords: ISIS, Twitter, Dictionary-Based Analysis, Propaganda
RELATED LINK: https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/isis-religious-and-extremist-propaganda-social-media-dictionary-based-study-twitter
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
The Opinion of The Taiwanese Media on Pro-Independence and Pro-Unification with People Republic China During Tsai Ing-Wen Era
Keywords: Taiwan, PRC, Text Analysis, Pro-Unification, Pro-Independence, KMT, DPP
RELATED LINK: http://daadtr.com/DAAD/ArchiveIssues/PDF/787eb20a-e1bb-ea11-810a-005056b0673e