SECURITIZATION OF FAKE NEWS

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Middle East Technical University, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Turkey

Approval Date: 2020

Thesis Language: English

Student: MEHMET MERT ERGÜL

Supervisor: Şerif Onur Bahçecik

Abstract:

This study argues that fake news is being transformed into a security issue. This transformation has or has the potential to have significant consequences in terms of human rights in Europe and beyond. This study also argues that perceptions of information, disinformation, news, and social media are changing in recent years, and these notions come to be widely accepted as security threats. Initially social media was perceived as a useful platform for obtaining and sharing information that helps the development of free speech and democracy. However, especially after the 2016 US presidential elections and the Brexit referendum, it is understood that social media platforms are also helping the spread of misinformation and it can be used to mislead and manipulate people. Once social media’s remarkable impact on the elections is understood, fake news and disinformation came to be perceived as a threat by many actors. These actors claim that disinformation and abusive usage of social media is threatening the economy, politics, and democracy. Presenting fake news as a security issue via securitization legitimizes strict proposals and acts which causes undermining of freedom of speech and censorship in media