AK Trolls
AK Trolls () are state-sponsored anonymous political commentators and trolls on the internet, as well as recruited TUGVA (Turkey Youth Foundation) members by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the current government of Turkey. In 2015 it was confirmed that AK Trolls are directly funded by the state, with most of the state-sponsored Internet trolls being people aged 20–25. The youth wing of the Justice and Development Party (AK Gençlik) is presumed responsible for heading the web brigade. In 2020 Twitter Safety suspended and archived 7,340 accounts pushing Justice and Development Party (AKP) which consists of fake  and compromised accounts that are tied to the group which pushed pro-AKP narratives that aim to increase domestic support for Turkish intervention in Syria as well as narratives critical of opposition parties CHP, IYI Party and HDP. Background. AK Trolls came to existence in 2013 after the Gezi Park protests where protesters used social media to organize and publicize protests against the government and the authoritarian tendencies of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As a reaction, the AKP recruited 6,000 people to a new social media team, known as the New Turkey Digital Office, to promote state propaganda and orchestrate campaigns  against individuals identified as being opponents of AKP. Internet bots are extensively used by government as well to assist paid individuals. AK Trolls mainly target anyone who opposes the policies of incumbent President Erdoğan, which can range from Kurdish leftists to Kemalists. AK Trolls favored a 'Yes' vote for the constitutional changes sought by Erdoğan. 2020 Twitter takedown. Twitter safety statement: "Based on our analysis of the network’s technical indicators and account behaviors, the collection of fake and compromised accounts was being used to amplify political narratives favorable to the AK Parti, and demonstrated strong support for President Erdogan . We’re disclosing 7,340 accounts to the archive today." According to Stanford Internet Observatory's report, the accounts: Methods. AK Trolls use social media networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Ekşi Sözlük) in an organized way to promote the AKP, discredit opposition, and attack individuals by spreading false information about them on the Internet. MPs from CHP and HDP asked to start an investigation on AK Trolls as the group is extensively employed to silence individuals through character assassination, insults, and threats. AK Trolls also use images to incite emotional responses from the target population. AK Trolls use fake Twitter trends as  a means to launch campaigns against opposition. A study by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) found that at least 47% of Twitter trends in Turkey were fake, created automatically using fake and compromised accounts. It is reported that in 2019, there were 6500 fake trends. Of those, 802 were about politics and 472 were pro-AKP, including campaigns against Ekrem İmamoğlu such as #ÇünküÇaldılar which claims that Ekrem İmamoğlu stole the votes.