There’s a massive, viral trend on Turkish X right now (early March 2026) where Turkish users are celebrating Spain as the new “kardeş ülke” (brother country). The reason? Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez’s firm “No to war” stance — specifically refusing to let the US use Spanish bases for any attacks/escalation involving Iran, plus Spain’s long-standing … Read more
Before I moved to the US for my doctoral studies, I had worked as a TA at İstanbul Bilgi University. I assisted Prof Avcı’s introduction to media courses. Nabi Avcı was involved in politics and later served as Turkey’s minister of education and then of culture. I had the opportunity to get in touch with … Read more
A reporter contacted me to comment on the recent launch of Turna.ai, as its answers reminded many of Grok’s scandalous answers. However, I could not follow the recent launch and thus could not respond to the reporter. But then I asked ChatGPT for a deep research. I believe users should not be harsh on this … Read more
Yesterday I saw the news online. Taylan Kulaçoğlu has passed away. We followed each other on X. I saw him once or twice in my life. He had a bar in Taksim for a while, and I visited the bar and met him there. He was a sincere man. That’s what I can say about … Read more
Celil Öker, one of the masters of Turkish crime fiction who passed away in 2019, told stories of the loneliness of cities and the new middle class, extending beyond murder, in his novels. We have discussed at SosyalKafa a newly defended PhD thesis: Elif Otluoğlu Kısa’s YENİK VE YALNIZ (Defeated and Alone): AN ANALYSIS OF … Read more
We have recently interviewed Furkan Şahin, who is one of the team members who created Seren Ay. Seren Ay (AI Influencer): Under the account “@ai.serenay” on Instagram, this refers to Turkey’s first and only AI influencer. The account produces content featuring a virtual persona generated by artificial intelligence, aimed at engaging with influencer and social … Read more
After a long hiatus, Sinem and I streamed a new video at SosyalKafa. This was an update to our academic AI tools stream that took a few years ago. It is in Turkish, but a lengthy summary in English is available here. Artificial Intelligence and Academic Tools Artificial intelligence has become an important tool in … Read more
I don’t understand why the platform would name itself in English if it claims to be local and national… Selçuk Bayraktar, a prominent Turkish engineer and chairman of Baykar and TEKNOFEST, and son-in-law of Erdoğan, announced NEXT Teknofest Social in July 2025 as a “yerli ve milli” (local and national) social media platform developed by … Read more
After the last update, Grok’s answers became offensive and led to a restriction in Türkiye. Honestly, before the update, I was using Grok to get relatively objective information, but not now at all. On July 9, 2025, a Turkish court ordered a nationwide block on Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI (Elon Musk’s company), … Read more
Details here This page, created as part of the Freedom of Expression Association‘s EngelliWeb project, shows how long some of the more than one million websites blocked in Turkey have been inaccessible. Our aim is to prevent the effects of censorship from being forgotten and to raise awareness about the pressures on freedom of expression.
X (formerly Twitter) blocked Ekrem İmamoğlu’s account in Turkey following a legal demand and court order issued by Turkish authorities. The official reason given was that posts on his account, particularly one from April 24, allegedly incited people to commit crimes and amounted to “propaganda for a criminal organization.” Authorities cited concerns over public order … Read more
This is the most significant migration to Bluesky in the Turkish context. Even my profile got over a hundred followers in a day. Someone created a basic site that allows X users to follow the people they follow on Bluesky. There are lists created to follow others and to block others! I moved the Bluesky … Read more
The recent closure of Gazete Duvar triggered a new series of criticisms towards Google’s search engine algorithm changes. Below is a curation of news on this topic ending with a comparative angle with other countries. My approach to Google has turned relatively sour recently, but I still don’t believe the platform itself is the only … Read more
As Turkey’s first Digital Print Library, the mission of Gravur Dunyasi Digital Print Library is to provide a comprehensive cultural service by creating a visual database which preserves cultural heritage, primarily those related to our geography, through archiving, documenting and labelling all of the prints available in the Library both in Turkish and English. For … Read more
A leading Turkish fact-checking organization, Teyit, sent a letter to followers signed by its founder, Mehmet Atakan Foça. Translated by DeepL Dear Erkan In the Age of Pinocchios, it is getting harder and harder to access accurate information. Information that is polluted, distorted, hollowed out and turned into a partisan tool for political and economic … Read more