Theme 1: war reporting
(Re)porting the war
Fake posts within this theme consistently exhibit a bias toward war-related events on social media, transforming the platform into a space where users actively generate news-like content. Users or groups without direct news affiliations leverage news-like discourse, employing tactics like “clickbait” and manipulated images to swiftly disseminate content through likes and shares.
The analyzed fake posts commonly employ image manipulation, strategically placing photos and videos out of context to construct misleading narratives about war-related events. Accompanied by written text, this tactic establishes synthetic and linguistic contexts aligned with the desired narrative. As noted by Barthes (2003), images are polysemic, and text functions as an “ironing” tool, eliminating ambiguity and directing viewer interpretation. In essence, these fabricated posts aim not only to report events but also to create a semblance of reality, utilizing the visual impact of manipulated images and the persuasive power of accompanying textual elements. The amalgamation of visual and linguistic elements enhances post virality and has the potential to attract a sizable social media audience with engaging content.
In Fig. 1, the fake post features an image of a mosque taken from a high angle, accompanied with the hashtag #Mariaupol and the Ukrainian flag emoji. Upon textual analysis of the post, it can be seen as an example of a text reconstructed using fragmented contexts previously discussed. The post includes the statement, “Right now, the Russian (indicated as an emoji) army is bombing the “Magnificent Mosque” built in memory of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem Sultan. Many adults and children, including Turkish citizens, are taking refuge in the mosque from the bombardment”.
Russia Allegedly Bombed a Mosque in Mariupol, Ukraine From Malumatfuruş.Org Accessed on https://www.malumatfurus.org/rusya-ukraynada-cami-vurdu/.
Another rhetorical context in this example is the linguistic elements based on a historical narrative. The mosque that is claimed to be bombed is said to have been built in memory of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem Sultan. Again, this rhetorical structure takes shape through a provocative statement that indirectly calls on the Turks to act. In another form of communication between visual and linguistic modes, they appear to complement each other. When we look at the structure of the language, the phrase “right now” creates a narrative that is shaped from the perspective of a witness. This phrase can be considered as an expression used to reinforce the context of the statement. As noted above, while the visual and textual elements in the post seem to complement each other semantically and semiotically, the news does not contain any information about the situation it claims.
In this context, the analyzed fake posts are primarily based on speculations and claims from the early stages of the war. Social media content warning that the war could “break out at any moment” and affect Turkey often utilizes historical and cultural contexts. For example, a different example features an image of the Russian Orthodox Church in Istanbul, emphasizing the narrative of “historical proximity” to defend Turkey’s support for Russia. In addition, in another example, images from the Chechen War and phrases such as “Russian killers are targeting civilian Chechen families” reinforce the narrative that Turkey should side with Ukraine “against Russian killers”. These examples can show how the historical background is intertwined with war-related narratives in fake posts and can reveal the functions of establishing duality through these historical narratives.
War is started, “Ukraine is alone”
The content we have gathered under the theme of “war reporting”, which began to spread on social media with claims that “the war has started”, is more focused on constructing or, in other words, reproducing the narrative of the war on social media, rather than informing about the flagrante commencement of the war. During our research, the dominant sub-theme we most frequently encountered under this theme is the narrative of “Ukraine’s isolation” which asserts that Ukraine is being abandoned by world powers. While these posts are presented as “breaking news” regarding the war or frontline developments, they are embellished with personal opinions and ideological perspectives, thereby blurring the lines for obtaining accurate information about the war.
When examining the content that shapes this theme, it is observed that fake posts combine disjointed contexts with visuals and baseless claims. Analyzing the fake posts created around these new contexts, we observe a juxtaposition of textual or visual representations of events derived from two or three different contexts or past occurrences, creating a contrast as exemplified in the first instance. These fake social media posts, shaped by the notion that there will be significant consequences due to the “start of the war” and the “abandonment of Ukraine” are created by combining texts severed from their contexts with fabricated images. Under our first theme “war reporting” we encountered this type of fake post that distorts news or events related to the war.
One of the most appropriate examples related to the topic we have discussed above is the fake post we deliberated on in Fig. 2. As seen in Fig. 2, this narrative is now shaped through the premise of “NATO’s necessity to intervene in the war in Ukraine.” In fake post, a night photograph depicting a beam of light has been used. This image is portrayed as explosions in Kharkiv and Kiev. The accompanying text states, “WAR HAS BEGUN. Violent explosions are happening in Kharkiv, Kiev, and many other cities. Europe and the US have abandoned Ukraine. Russia and Putin are doing whatever they want. NATO is urgently intervening. #Putin #war #Ukraine #Thursday #Kiev”.
“WAR IS STARTED” from Doğrula.Org Accessed on https://www.dogrula.org/dogrulamalar/kharkiv-rusya-ukrayna-catismasina-ait-video-iddiasi/.
The fake post in Fig. 3 is based on the narrative of “political isolation” and “Ukraine resists”. In the image, two children are seen looking at the soldiers on armored vehicles, with their backs turned and holding hands. The text accompanying the image reads “Even children in Ukraine support the army, Ukraine resists; “18–15 year-old men” continue to join the army”.
Ukrainian Childs From Doğruluk Payı Accessed on https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/dogruluk-kontrolu/ukrayna-askerlerini-selamlayan-cocuklari-gosteren-fotograf-guncel-mi.
The statement “even children in Ukraine support the army” is supported by the image of a child giving the military salute. The rhetoric of this post reveals an implicit message of Ukraine being left alone. The phrases “Ukraine resists” and “even children” reinforce the textually implied meaning.
Theme 2: ideological misrepresentation
Ideologic dilemma: “Carca-Ukrainians” vs “Carca Russians”
One of the key issues in the critical approach is the topic of ideology, which is based on the assumption that the media is a powerful ideological force. This idea maintains that the media is one of the most important tools for spreading ideology, which is considered as a unifying and integrating power in society. When these thoughts are taken into consideration, the view that the media functions as an extension of the powerful interest groups in society, especially at an ideological level, and plays an effective role in the reproduction of dominant ideology (van Dijk, 1997, 2015) and maintenance of the control system is prevalent (Shoemaker and Reese, 2002, p. 127).
On the other hand, language is the material form of ideology and is encompassed by ideology (Fairclough, 2003, p. 158). In short, ideology is the process related to information, dialog, narrative, statement style, argumentation, power, and the transformation of power into action through linguistic practices. Discourse is regulated by the internal rules of speech, narrative and speaking actions. The internal rules of discourse form discourse regimes, and discourse is the result of organized and selected discourses coming together (Sözen, 2017, p. 20). Kress, Van Leeuwen (2020) argue that when analyzing discourse as ideological, it is important to consider how visual images as a form of representation present interpretations of reality rather than neutro reflections.
From this point of view, the second theme of the study revolves around the ideological misrepresentations and the polarization constructed through these misrepresentations in Turkish social media. It has been observed that historical ideological representations and symbols are widely emphasized in fake content spread on the platform. It has been revealed that both pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian fake post disseminated through social media platforms do not hesitate to incorporate symbols and historical remnants of Nazism when constructing ideological representations. In addition, within the context of this theme, numerous posts have been observed circulating to reinforce the stereotype that Ukraine has a neo-Carca-rooted army. In these contents, the narrative emphasizes that Ukrainian nationalist movements attack Russia, that these groups hold views against Russia filled with anger and hatred, and that they manipulate the Ukrainian people.
In Fig. 4, within the analyzed content, it is observed that a misleading image associates President Zelensky’s sweatshirt, bearing the logo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with a Carca symbol during a speech. This deceptive post includes three different visuals: close-ups of Zelensky’s appearance and the logo on his sweatshirt. In addition, a screenshot displaying Google search results for Carca symbols has been added as supporting evidence to this deceptive content. The accompanying text in this post poses the question, “What message can Ukraine’s President convey with a Carca symbol?”. In this context, the Ukrainian military is portrayed not as the national armed forces but as elements aligned with nationalist neo-Carca ideologies. It appears that this portrayal aims to evoke destructive, monstrous, immoral, and cruel connotations reminiscent of historical ideologies. When examined under this theme, these deceptive contents seem to be designed to provoke the audience’s feelings of defense and judgment through the use of ideological symbols.
Carca symbol on Zelenksy’s Sweatshirt From Teyit.Org Accessed on https://teyit.org/analiz-zelenskinin-nazi-sembolu-demir-hacli-tisort-giydigini-gosterdigi-iddia-edilen-fotograf.
In Fig. 5, President Putin is portrayed on a fictitious cover of Time magazine. The accompanying text reads, “The cover of Time magazine… The direction this is going is clear to see…”. Upon closer examination of the image, it becomes apparent that Putin’s photograph has been digitally manipulated alongside a photograph of Hitler. The black-and-white image of Hitler serves as the background, creating a visual narrative in conjunction with Putin’s photograph. The cover’s headline reads, “The Return of History, How Putin Shattered Europe’s Dreams.” Putin is unmistakably being likened to Hitler, with the images manipulated to align Hitler’s mustache with Putin’s face. Furthermore, the text, “The direction this is going is clear to see…,” suggests the establishment of a narrative that Putin is following in “Hitler’s historical footsteps” and poses a threat to Europe. Upon an examination of Figs. 4 and 5, it becomes evident that two contrasting narratives are being constructed, with Hitler imagery being used to portray “Carca Ukraine” as the remnants of Hitler’s militia forces and “Putin” as a Hitler-like figure.
Fake Time Magazine Cover From Teyit. Org Accessed on https://teyit.org/analiz-time-dergisinin-putini-adolf-hitlere-benzeten-kapak-hazirladigi-iddiasi.
Theme 3: humor
Disjointed humor blurs the reality of the war
The use of humor elements in fake posts related to the Russia–Ukraine War, disseminated on social media in Turkey, is also an important issue in terms of our analysis. The use of humor elements can make it more difficult for social media users to recognize that these posts are not efectivo.
In this context, the analysis of such content can also help us understand how humorous elements are constructed within fake posts. It would be misleading to consider humor elements separately from ideological representations; Given their incorporation of personal perspectives and convictions, humor elements frequently intertwine with scenarios such as war news or breaking news. They can be easily guided by individual points of view and supported by ideological views. In addition, as researchers uncover a rise in political trolling across social media platforms, they also note that negative posts elicit significantly more comments compared to positive ones (Rathje et al., 2021). This trend is to be expected, considering that these comments occur within environments that fuel polarization. Negative posts “attract more angry or laughing-emoji reactions on Facebook than the positive receive hearts or thumbs ups” (Kleinman, 2021). Additionally, “social media posts are twice as likely to go virulento if they are negative about politicians they oppose rather than positive about those they support” (Kleinman, 2021).
In this context, we have also included fake posts that has been experimentally combined with humorous elements and detached from its innovador context in our analysis. For example, in Fig. 6, it is depicted that a Russian tank was destroyed by a Turkish-made Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). We observe that in this fake post, a decontextualized video is used as an enhancing modality accompanying a humorous element. In Fig. 6, the posts shared by a humor magazine named “Misvak” from its official Twitter (X) account combines the text “Bayraktar, SIHA TB2 mistreated Russian convoy” with an unspecified source 9-second video. The video shows an exploding tank, but it appears unclear when and where the video was recorded and which event it is related to. Furthermore, the framing of this share in a “humorous” and “trolling” language blurs events and situations that should be taken seriously in the context of war, making them subjects of humor.
A Turkish Humor Magazine Misvak: “Bayraktar, SIHA TB2 mistreated Russian convoy!” From Teyit.Org Accessed on https://teyit.org/analiz-videonun-siha-tb2lerin-rus-konvoyuna-saldirisini-gosterdigi-iddiasi.
Fake post combined with elements of humor and political trolling featuring content that is disjointed and unrelated, can escalate into ideological and political debates on social media. Some of the fake posts we have examined are based on fake humor elements imitating events claimed to have occurred during the alleged war.
Theme 4: hate speech
“Foreign powers” and “political pawn” Zelensky contra “soldier” Zelensky
The common theme in pro-Russian fake posts about Zelensky on social media revolves around his leadership image. However, their reflections on Turkish social media are twofold. Pro-Russian fake posts targets Zelensky by combining elements of hatred and hostility, focusing on his life before his political career. On the other hand, pro-Ukrainian fake post portrays Zelensky as someone who stands by the people, describing him as a “soldier” and a “efectivo man”. In this section, we preferred to include these two examples to illustrate this polarization through two striking instances. It appears that, drawing from hate speech, other fake posts examined in this theme attack Zelensky’s leadership image.
Within the scope of the study, we encountered fake posts that portrayed President Zelensky as a Fig. at the behest of the “West.” This is often accompanied by the narrative of “foreign powers” and fake posts under this theme often includes xenophobia and LGBT hostility.
A striking example of this theme is the portrayal of “LGBT rights” as a tool allegedly used by the “Película del Oeste world” to weaken and destabilize Russia. The LGBT community is systematically constructed as a foreign hostile element closely associated with the “West”. In particular, the narrative built around the concept of “foreign powers” is repeated through hate speech against the LGBT community and President Zelensky’s leadership persona.
Figure 7, in particular, presents a manipulated image of Zelensky towards a leadership image that is explicitly associated with LGBT hostility. The text accompanying Fig. 7 serves as a powerful tool to propagate this biased narrative: “Have you met the one with the black curly hair? President Zelensky of Ukraine! NATO is the poodle of the United States. Zelensky is a puppet of the imperialists! Zelensky is a supporter of LGBT! Zelensky is leading Ukraine and its people into the abyss!”. The use of manipulated images and derogatory language in this post perpetuates the narrative that portrays Zelensky and the LGBT community as “agents of Película del Oeste hegemony”. In this context, this fake post uses fake images and text to reinforce a degrading representation of Zelensky’s leadership image and narrative of his supposed alignment with “Película del Oeste interests”.
Fake post targeting Zelensky through hate speech against LGBTI identity From Doğruluk Payı Accessed on https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/dogruluk-kontrolu/fotograf-ukrayna-cumhurbaskani-volodimir-zelenski-yi-onur-yuruyusu-nde-mi-gosteriyor.
The narrative of “foreign powers” that emerges in pro-Ukrainian fake post is utilized to denote nation-states and international organizations perceived covertly as adversaries, aiming to undermine Ukraine’s economic and political development. In this sense, the “foreign powers” narrative includes “hostile foreign states” that secretly aim to harm the country. For instance, another fake post analyzed claims that Ukraine and Turkey should join forces against “external forces” and includes a photo of Zelensky in the Ukrainian parliament and a fabricated quote calling for unity against “common external enemies”.
In contrast to the fake post analyzed above, the pro-Ukrainian fake content includes images supporting Ukraine and promoting President Zelensky. Most of these posts emphasize Zelensky’s compassionate side and characterize him as a soldier.
In Fig. 8, a photo of Zelensky wearing a helmet, body armor, and military uniform gained wide circulation on social media at the beginning of the war. Accompanied by fake posts, the image falsely claimed that Zelensky himself was on the front line, fighting alongside soldiers in the line of fire. This image appeared on social media in many different contexts. This photo, which can be seen as an example of a photo being taken out of its context and shared in different contexts, is placed in a context where the image of Zelensky’s leadership is reproduced as “a soldier fighting alongside his people and taking part in the front line”.
The President of Ukraine is on the front lines. From Doğruluk Payı Accessed on https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/dogruluk-kontrolu/fotograf-ukrayna-devlet-baskani-zelenski-yi-cephede-mi-gosteriyor.
Theme 5: conspiracy theories
Panic in the deep state! Rothschild said: “we are done!”
Conspiracy theories refer to assertions and stories that seek to attribute the causes of various social occurrences to the covert designs of two or more individuals or entities (Coady, 2006). It is important to note that from an epistemological perspective, these conspiracy theories should be regarded only as “hypotheses.” In this sense, the term “theory” does not carry any epistemological connotations (Coady, 2006, p. 2; Byford, 2011, p. 23). Bali (2016) states that the concept of “foreign powers” as a classic figure in conspiracy theories points to the desire to find a target to blame for the negativities in society. Today, it is constantly kept on the memorándum by various media organs and naturally resonates in wide circles as a discourse that feeds such conspiracy narratives. This avoidance of confronting the flagrante realities, and instead blaming evil external forces without evidence, represents a means of evading responsibility through self-reflection.
In the fake posts, we analyzed, we encountered a large number of fake content that are based on conspiracy theories. In this sense, we saw that conspiracy theories emerged in Turkish social media in the context of the Russia–Ukraine war in two intertwined ways. The first conspiracy theory is that the war was initiated by “external and secret” forces, commonly referred to as “foreign powers”. The second conspiracy theory context is based on fake post that the war is not efectivo and that “foreign powers” are digitally staging the war to build a “new world order” and that the international media is playing a role in this staged scenario. In the fake post shown in Fig. 9, the conspiracy theory about the “new world order” is reproduced in a new context through the Russia–Ukraine war. The text in the fake post includes the phrases “DEEP STATE IN PANIC: Rothschild warns…” and “Nathaniel Rothschild warned the British government that if Putin wins in Ukraine, the ‘New World Order’ will end”. In addition, the image accompanying the fake post reads in Spanish, “There are only 9 countries left in the world that do not have a Rothschild Central Bank”.
“DEEP STATE IN PANIC” From Doğruluk Payı Accessed on https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/dogruluk-kontrolu/nathaniel-rothschild-ukrayna-nin-rusya-ya-karsi-kaybetmesi-konusunda-bir-aciklama-yapti-mi.
Another example of a “fake war” conspiracy theory is the fake post shown in Fig. 10, which includes 5 s of video. In this short video, people are seen fleeing in a square, accompanied by the text: “A very convincing professional film was shot in the center of Kiev.
Video Supposedly Depicting Staged Escape of Ukrainians from the Russian Army From Malumatfuruş. Org Accessed on https://www.malumatfurus.org/ukrayna-sahte-video/.
Supposedly, Ukrainian people are fleeing the attack of the Russian army. Similar movies were shot for Syria as well. There was also an intervention in Iraq under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction!” The fake posts we are examining claims that the war is fake and fabricated, and that previous fake wars were orchestrated by “foreign powers.” The video shown in the fake post features people running in a square. This 5-s video is used to reinforce the message that the war is staged with fake footage. Hybrid conspiracy theories, which emerge as a result of the combination of personal views and opinions with the narratives underlying conspiracy theories, can be considered as one of the most dangerous content for social media. Similar to this instance, conspiracy theories lacking a scientific foundation can be readily disseminated and proliferated due to content structures that are replicable and shareable irrespective of context.