Reputation for Sale

A troll network consisting of at least 181 accounts, which we identified as active on Twitter, has been systematically posting content in support of specific companies and politicians while attempting to mislead the public. Among those amplified by these accounts are candidates running in the 31 March local elections, Anagold Mining — the operator of the İliç gold mine whose heap leach facility collapsed on 13 February 2024 — and major corporations such as Cengiz Holding.

In the 2000s, television and print newspapers gradually gave way to online news platforms. Soon after, even news websites began to lose ground as social media platforms (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) became the primary spaces where we consume information. The news that appears in our feeds has increasingly shaped how we perceive the world. In forming opinions, we tend to rely on politicians, artists, or journalists we follow and trust, as well as on the debates we witness on these platforms.

Reputation for Sale is a seven-part investigative journalism series. In this project, Doğu Eroğlu investigated and exposed troll networks operating on X.