Comparative Social Network Analysis of Terrorist Organizations Through Hashtag Activism

Abstract

Developments in communication technologies, especially in social media, have caused significant changes in the activist approaches of terrorist organizations. While the organizations continued their traditional actions, they carried their de facto activism to the cyber world with hashtag activism. In this study, the Twitter accounts of the members and sympathizers of the FETO organization and PKK organization and the hashtags opened from their accounts were examined and social network analyzes were made. Additionally, hashtag posts were subjected to content analysis to collect supporting data. Findings have been obtained that PKK networks have a more horizontal and intense relationship, foreign actors are also quite influential within the network, and FETO networks display a more hierarchical, controlled and organized relationship. There is also data that they sometimes cooperate in networks, despite having opposing ideological approaches.