Reflections of Asabiyyah Effect on Social Differentiation in Social Media: The Case of the July 15th Military Coup Attempt


MENCET M. S., ERTÜRK O.

TURKIYE ILETISIM ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI-TURKISH REVIEW OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES, vol.0, no.32, pp.1-12, 2019 (ESCI) identifier identifier

Abstract

During the July 15th Coup Attempt in Turkey, many firsts were experienced. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey and other state buildings were bombed by Turkish warplanes led by putschist pilots, the civilians were fusilladed intensively and their resistance was strong and uncompromising. Yet, the media subordinate to the putschists in previous coup attempts played a crucial role in the failure of the putschists in this coup attempt. Just after the President's call to civilians for resistance in the squares, many people, who were organized in the social media platforms, shielded themselves against soldiers and tanks immediately, but the soldiers of junta could manage to kill 173 civilians. Meanwhile, another part of the society kept their silence and went to ATMs or markets in fear of a probable war. When the activities in the social media within the process of the coup attempt are considered, it can be figured out that both parts of the society were influenced by the social media contents and that they acted accordingly. An in-depth analysis of the elements that affect the perception, and reactions within these two different segments of the society, attitude-development and action-taking of these two parts is vital for the prevention of such attempts which have the power to directly influence the well-being of the country and the peace of the society. For this purpose, in this study, social media activities and the reactance of the masses pre - and intra-coup attempt are analyzed. Two hashtags and two visual contents representing the different reflections of the process of the 15th of July Coup Attempt in the social media are analyzed through Roland Barthes's Semiological Denotation/Connotation Model, and the role of the media in the assumption of different attitudes of the masses are examined by scrutinizing the different attitudes of both pro - and against-government parties and the collective actions through the Asabiyyah theory of Ibn Khaldun. Findings summarizes factors that are threating the social peace and reinforcing discrimination; and furthermore, they show why it is important to adopt the Asabiyyah theory to understand such social events.