Disinformation Campaigns and Turkey’s Withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention

• In Event: Making and Breaking the International Social Contract Protecting Human Rights

Abstract

Countermovements that target women and LGBTQ rights are on the rise globally. But how and why do some countermovements manage to capture the public discourse and shift policy outcomes? In this exploratory study, we answer this question by focusing on the case of backlash against the Istanbul Convention—a convention to eliminate violence against women and domestic violence—culminating in Turkey’s withdrawal. Using data obtained from Facebook and Twitter, we trace the involvement of such groups in the lead-up to the government’s decision to withdraw from the Convention. Our data reveals that several anti-liberal and conservative groups contributed to the formation of a disinformation campaign shaping the public discourse. Lodged initially by the men’s rights movement, the campaign became more salient when it framed the Istanbul Convention as promoting homosexuality and recruited support from religious groups. Our analysis reveals how countermovements can reinforce each other’s messages and raise each other’s platforms. It also demonstrates how disinformation campaigns can be used to further anti-liberal interests, while also allowing countermovements to form alliances with like-minded groups to maximize their impact. Studying the policy impact of such disinformation campaigns is more relevant than ever as authoritarian-leaning populist governments—whose numbers are on the rise—tend to use them as justification for their regressive policies.

Authors

• Umut Yüksel, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

• Tugrulcan Elmas, Indiana University Bloomington

• Ezgi Yildiz, California State University, Long Beach