Tracking the Spread of Nationalist Internet Memes on Twitter

Tracking the Spread of Nationalist Internet Memes on Twitter

International Conference on ‘‘Communication of the Symbolic the Symbolic of Communication in the Modern and Postmodern

Societies’’ November 8-9, 2012 / Béziers, France

Behlül ÇALIŞKAN / Research Assistant Marmara University Communications Faculty, Turkey

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

04/11/2023 Tracking the Spread of Nationalist Internet Memes on Twitter 2

‘The best Kurd is a dead Kurd’

For details visit: Al Jazeera, http://bit.ly/AlJazeera-Kurd

Happy is who says I’m a Turk // the best Kurd is a dead Kurd

Those who are making this a TT are Kurds, don't be provoked!

The best Kurd is a dead Kurd. Every Kurd is a potential PKK and I have yet to meet a good Kurd.

'The best Kurd is a dead Kurd' -- To say this takes guts and I'm going to write it 100 times!

http://bit.ly/AlJazeera-Kurd

http://bit.ly/AlJazeera-Kurd


‘Dirty Nigger Zokora’

Fenerbahce and Turkey's Emre Belozoglu has been handed a two-match ban for insulting Ivory Coast's Didier Zokora by the Turkish Football Disciplinary Committee. (BBC, http://bit.ly/BBC-Zokora)

Zokora you are not only a dog nigger but also a son of a b..ch.

Let's deport the cannibals.

Discrimination of poeple based on their skin color is rudeness. But Zokora is not human!

I am racist till the end. Stick your leg in your tribe.

We are all Emre, we are all racist.

http://bit.ly/BBC-Zokora




Kurdish Adages vs. Turkish Nationalists– On 21 July, 2012 Kurdish people in Turkey popularized the hashtag #KürtAtasözleri by

sharing Kurdish adages.

– Turkish nationalist reacted by producing and spreading the phrase “Türkün Türkten Başka Dostu Yoktur” (There is no other friend to a Turk than a Turk).

– This phrase later first evolved to “Ne Mutlu Türküm Diyene” (Happy is who says I’m a Turk)

– … and finally to #AtatürkDiyorki (#AtatürkSays).

There is no other friend to a Turk than a Turk but there are many betrayers in the land!

!!!!

This country was, is and will always be Turkish.

Kurdish adages? For that you had to have ancestors but yours are Turkish!


Conceptual FrameworkMemetics– The theoretical and empirical science that studies the replication, spread and

evolution of memes.– Cultural transmission and evolution of language, fashions in dress and diet,

ceremonies and customs, art and architecture, engineering and technology.Meme– A new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural

transmission.– A copy of the meme is made in the memory of another individual, making

him or her into a carrier of the meme. – This process of self-reproduction, leading to spreading over a growing group

of individuals, defines the meme as a replicator.Internet Meme– Hyperlink, video, picture, website, hashtag, or just a word or phrase, that

spread from person to person via social networks, blogs, direct email, news sources, instant messaging, forums or other web-based services.

– Useful tools to produce and spread nationalist discourse online.


MethodologyResearch Questions– By whom are the nationalist internet memes spread?– How may we differentiate the users according to their characteristics? – How do the nationalist internet memes evolve?Data Collection– Three datasets acquired between July 21-23, 2012:

o There is no other friend to a Turk than a Turk: 6,202 tweetso Happy is who says I’m a Turk: 7,067 tweetso #AtatürkSays: 12,787 tweets

– Windows application “Archivist” to query for the Twitter postsActor Types and Characteristics Classification– 600 users selected, who had most tweeted and were most retweeted– Three actor types (users, anonyms and celebrities) and five characteristics

(Kemalist, ultra-nationalist, Islamist, fan, activist)Limitations– Missing relevant Tweets– Irrelevant Tweets– Anti nationalist Tweets


Key Findings

23,000 tweets collected including nationalist internet memes and

12,173 users have contributed to this conversation alone.

There is no other friend

to a Turk than a Turk: 24%

Happy is who says I’m a Turk

27%

Atatürk says 49%

– 79% of users tweeted just once and these users contribute 42% of the total number of tweets. – The top 10% of users in the study account for 31% of total

tweets. – 48% of tweets including nationalist internet memes are

retweets of other users’ content.


Actor Types Analysis

There is no other friend to a Turk than a Turk:

Happy is who says I’m a Turk Atatürk says 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Top Tweets

UsersAnonymsCelebrities


Happy is who says I’m a Turk Atatürk says 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Top Retweets

UsersAnonymsCelebrities


Actor Characteristics Analysis


Happy is who says I’m a Turk Atatürk says 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Kemalists

Top TweetsTop Retweets



5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Ultra-nationalists






2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

Islamists




10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Fans






2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

Activists



Conclusion– Tweets haven’t taken their source from a handful of

influential Twitter users.– Powerful reflexes of Turkish nationalists against issues

related to Kurdish problem and ability to rapidly spread their reactions through Twitter. – Evolution started with ultra-nationalist and Islamist

tweets and ended with moderate tweets of Kemalists.– Individual efforts were influential for the spread of

nationalist internet memes.–Nationalist discourse on Twitter is a mass action of

common people.

Tracking the Spread of Nationalist Internet Memes on Twitter

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