SavedAdd your journal

Journals / İmgelem / 2026 / Sayı: Yeni Medya Çalışmaları Özel Sayı

The Rise of Popularism in the Artificial Intelligence Era: Digital Algorithms and Political Manipulation

Yapay Zekâ Çağında Popülizmin Yükselişi: Dijital Algoritmalar ve Siyasal Manipülasyon

Yahya Gençay0000-0003-1304-2245
Canan Katılmış(INONU UNIVERSITY)0000-0001-5978-2674
Journal
İmgelem
Pages
649–684
Publication Date
2025-09-28
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

As a result, it is argued that digital technologies have a dual function of both enhancing the impact of populist politics and risking to undermine democratic values.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study examines the effects of digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies on the discourse production, voter mobilization and public opinion manipulation of contemporary populist political movements.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Artificial intelligence-supported data analysis, algorithmic manipulation and social media strategies have enabled populist actors to restructure their political communication processes.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:As a result, it is argued that digital technologies have a dual function of both enhancing the impact of populist politics and risking to undermine democratic values.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Popülizm · Dijitalleşme · Yapay Zekâ

Abstract

This study examines the effects of digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies on the discourse production, voter mobilization and public opinion manipulation of contemporary populist political movements. Populism has historically been considered as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped on the basis of the opposition between the people and the elites; however, in the digital era, this dynamic has taken on a new form through digital platforms and algorithms. Artificial intelligence-supported data analysis, algorithmic manipulation and social media strategies have enabled populist actors to restructure their political communication processes. While these technologies have accelerated the reach of populist discourses to large audiences, they have also increased the potential to manipulate public opinion through mechanisms such as disinformation, echo chambers and microtargeting. In this context, the study aims to analyze the interaction between digital media and populist discourses and discuss the possible effects of this technological transformation on democratic norms. The study is structured in accordance with a qualitative research approach. Based on a theoretical and conceptual literature review, it reveals how artificial intelligence is instrumentalized in political manipulation processes. As a result, it is argued that digital technologies have a dual function of both enhancing the impact of populist politics and risking to undermine democratic values.

Özet

Bu çalışma, dijitalleşme ve yapay zekâ teknolojilerinin, çağdaş popülist siyasal hareketlerin söylem üretimi, seçmen mobilizasyonu ve kamuoyu manipülasyonu üzerindeki etkilerini incelemektedir. Popülizm, tarihsel olarak halk ve elitler arasındaki karşıtlık temelinde şekillenen çok boyutlu bir olgu olarak değerlendirilmiş; ancak dijital çağda bu dinamik, dijital platformlar ve algoritmalar aracılığıyla yeni bir biçim kazanmıştır. Yapay zekâ destekli veri analizleri, algoritmik yönlendirmeler ve sosyal medya stratejileri, popülist aktörlerin siyasal iletişim süreçlerini yeniden yapılandırmalarına olanak tanımıştır. Bu teknolojiler, popülist söylemlerin geniş kitlelere ulaşmasını hızlandırırken, aynı zamanda dezenformasyon, yankı odaları ve mikro hedefleme gibi mekanizmalar aracılığıyla kamuoyunu manipüle etme potansiyelini arttırmıştır. Bu bağlamda çalışma, dijital medya ile popülist söylemler arasındaki etkileşimi analiz ederek, bu teknolojik dönüşümün demokratik normlar üzerindeki olası etkilerini tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. Kuramsal-derleme yaklaşımı doğrultusunda yapılandırılan çalışma, yapay zekânın siyasal manipülasyon süreçlerinde nasıl araçsallaştırıldığını ortaya koymaktadır. Sonuç olarak, dijital teknolojilerin popülist siyasetin hem etkisini artıran hem de demokratik değerleri zayıflatma riski taşıyan çift yönlü bir işlev gördüğü ileri sürülmektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Gençay, Y., Katılmış, C. (2025). The Rise of Popularism in the Artificial Intelligence Era: Digital Algorithms and Political Manipulation. İmgelem, Sayı: Yeni Medya Çalışmaları Özel Sayı, 649–684. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1716179

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (46)

  1. Abebe, R., Barocas, S., Kleinberg, J. vd. (2020). Roles for Computing in Social Change (252-260). Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, Barcelona: FAT ’20. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3351095.3372871
  2. Acemoğlu, D., Özdaglar, A. ve Siderius, J. (2021). Misinformation: Strategic Sharing, Homophily and Endogenous Echo Chambers, Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research.
  3. Akdal, T., Gezgin, S. (2018). Dijital Siyaset ile Siyasal Katılımın Değişen Kimliği ve Dili (89-103), Political Communication in Theory and Practice: Non-Western Approaches, Aydın.
  4. Akdoğan, Y. (2024). Popülizmin Siyasal Sisteme Etkileri, Amme İdaresi Dergisi, 57(3), 39-62.
  5. Akkerman, A., Mudde, C. ve Zaslove, A. (2014). How Populist Are The People? Measuring Populist Attitudes in Voters, Comparative Political Studies, 47(9), 1324-1353. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414013512600
  6. Aydoğan, Ü., Şentürk, T. (2024). Yapay Zekâ ve Sosyal Medyada Kullanım Alanları, F. Elmalı ve M. A. Tekindal (Ed.), Veri Analitiği ve Paket Program Uygulamaları içinde (584-599), Konya: Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi Yayınları.
  7. Azgin, B., Kıralp, Ş. (2024). Surveillance, Disinformation, and Legislative Measures in The 21st Century: AI, Social Media, and The Future of Democracies, Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(10), 510. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/jitp13100510
  8. Barr, R. R. (2009). Populists, Outsiders and Anti Establishment Politics, Party Politics, 15(1), 29-48. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068808097890
  9. Bartoletti, I. (2020). An Artificial Revolution: On Power, Politics and AI, London: The Indigo Press.
  10. Battista, D. (2024). Political Communication in The Age Of Artificial İntelligence: An Overview Of Deepfakes and Their İmplications, Society Register, 8(2), 7-24. Doi: https://doi.org/10.14746/sr.2024.8.2.01
  11. Bennett, W. L., Segerberg, A. (2012). The Logic Of Connective Action: Digital Media and The Personalization of Contentious Politics, Information, Communication & Society, 15(5), 739-761. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2012.670661
  12. Bontridder, N., Poullet, Y. (2021). The Role of Artificial İntelligence in Disinformation, Data & Policy, 3, E32. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/dap.2021.20
  13. Bruns, A. (2017). Echo Chamber? What Echo Chamber? Reviewing The Evidence, 6th Biennial Future of Journalism Conference, Brisbane, https://eprints.qut.edu.au/113937/
  14. Burrell, J., Fourcade, M. (2021). The Society of Algorithms, Annual Review of Sociology, 47, 213-237. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090820-020800
  15. Canovan, M. (1981). Populism, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
  16. Canovan, M. (1999). Trust The People! Populism and The Two Faces of Democracy, Political Studies, 47(1), 2-16. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.00184
  17. Castells, M. (2009). Communication Power, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  18. Cresci, S. (2020). A Decade of Social Bot Detection, Communications of The ACM, 63(10), 72-81. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3409116
  19. d’Ancona, M. (2017). Post Truth: The New War On Truth and How To Fight Back, London: Ebury Press.
  20. Devran, Y., Özcan, Ö. F. (2020). Siyasal İletişimde “Araç” Öncelliğinden “Mikro Hedefe” Uzanan Yaklaşımlar: Yapay Zekâ Teknolojisinin Mikro Hedef Kitlenin Belirlenmesinde ve İletişiminde Kullanımı, Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 24(4), 1977-1992.
  21. Dixit, A., Kaur, N. ve Kingra, S. (2023). Review of Audio Deepfake Detection Techniques: Issues and Prospects, Expert Systems, 40(8). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.13322
  22. Engesser, S., Ernst, N., Esser, F. vd. (2017). Populism and Social Media: How Politicians Spread A Fragmented İdeology, Information, Communication & Society, 20(8), 1109-1126. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2016.1207697
  23. Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977 (C. Gordon, Ed.), New York: Pantheon Books.
  24. Francescato, D. (2018). Globalization, Artificial İntelligence, Social Networks and Political Polarization: New Challenges for Community Psychologists, Community Psychology in Global Perspective, 4(1), 20-41.
  25. Gerbaudo, P. (2018). Social Media and Populism: An elective affinity?, Media Culture & Society, 40(5), 745-753. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443718772192
  26. Germano, F., Sobbrio, F. (2017). Opinion Dynamics Via Search Engines (and Other Algorithmic Gatekeepers), SSRN Electronic Journal. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2890853
  27. Habermas, J. (1989). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Cambridge: MIT Press.
  28. Hameleers, M., Bos, L. ve Vreese, C. H. (2017). The Effects of Emotionalized Blame Attribution in Populist Communication, Communication Research, 44(6), 870-900. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650216644026
  29. Hermida, A. (2016). Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why İt Matters, Toronto: Doubleday Canada.
  30. Ionescu, G., Gellner, E. (Eds.) (1969). Populism: Its Meanings and National Characteristics, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  31. Islam, M. B. E., Haseeb, M., Batool, H. vd. (2024). AI Threats To Politics, Elections, and Democracy: A Blockchain Based Deepfake Authenticity Verification Framework, Blockchains, 2(4), 458-481. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/blockchains2040020
  32. Jagers, J., Walgrave, S. (2007). Populism as Political Communication Style: An Empirical Study of Political Parties’ Discourse in Belgium, European Journal of Political Research, 46(3), 319-345. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2006.00690.x
  33. Janssen, A., Passlick, J., Cardona, D. vd. (2020). Virtual Assistance in Any Context: A Taxonomy of Design Elements for Domain Specific Chatbots, Business & Information Systems Engineering, 62(3), 211-225. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-020-00644-1
  34. Jiang, Y., Li, X., Luo, H. vd. (2022). Quo Vadis Artificial İntelligence?, Discover Artificial Intelligence, 2, Article 4. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/S44163-022-00022-8
  35. Jungherr, A. (2023). Artificial İntelligence and Democracy: A Conceptual Framework, Social Media Society, 9(3). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231186353
  36. Kamber, A. (2024). The Impact of Artificial İntelligence Applications On Politics: Assessing The Effects of Social Bots On Political Discourse On Twitter Through 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and 2022 U.S. Midterm Elections, Yayımlanmamış Doktora Tezi, Yeditepe Üniversitesi- Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
  37. Karnouskos, S. (2020). Artificial İntelligence in Digital Media: The Era of Deepfakes, IEEE Transactions On Technology And Society, 1(3), 138-147. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/tts.2020.3001312
  38. Kertysova, K. (2019). Artificial İntelligence and Disinformation: How AI Changes The Way Disinformation is Produced, Disseminated, and Can Be Countered, Security And Human Rights, 29(1), 55-81. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/18750230-02901005
  39. Kouroupis, K. (2023). AI and politics: Ensuring or threatening democracy?, Juridical Tribune, 13(4), 576-587. Doi: https://doi.org/10.24818/TBJ/2023/13/4.05
  40. Krämer, B. (2017). Populist Online Practices: The Function of The Internet in Right Wing Populism, Information, Communication & Society, 20(9), 1293-1309. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2017.1328520
  41. Krastev, I. (2017, April 26). The Movie That Explains Central Europe’s Protesters, The New York Times.
  42. Kurnaz, A. (2024). Dijital Siyasetin Yükselişi ve Yapay Zekâ, SSRN Electronic Journal. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4312539
  43. Laclau, E. (2005). On Populist Reason, London-New York: Verso.
  44. Langguth, J., Pogorelov, K., Brenner, S. vd. (2021). Don’t Trust Your Eyes: Image Manipulation in The Age of Deepfakes, Frontiers in Communication, 6, Article 632317. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.632317
  45. Levy, F. S. (2018). Computers and Populism, SSRN Electronic Journal. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3091867
  46. Lokman, A. S., Ameedeen, M. A. (2019). Modern Chatbot Systems: A Technical Review (1012-1023), Proceedings of The Future Technologies Conference, San Francisco: Springer. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02683-7_75