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
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‘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!
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‘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.
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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!
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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
90
Top Retweets
UsersAnonymsCelebrities
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Actor Characteristics 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%
Kemalists
Top TweetsTop Retweets
There is no other friend to a Turk than a Turk:
Happy is who says I’m a Turk Atatürk says 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Ultra-nationalists
Top TweetsTop Retweets
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Actor Characteristics Analysis
There is no other friend to a Turk than a Turk:
Happy is who says I’m a Turk Atatürk says 0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
Islamists
Top TweetsTop Retweets
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%
Fans
Top TweetsTop Retweets
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Actor Characteristics Analysis
There is no other friend to a Turk than a Turk:
Happy is who says I’m a Turk Atatürk says 0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
Activists
Top TweetsTop Retweets
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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.