The Problem of Freedom of Expression in the Public Sphere of Social Media: Descriptive Analysis of the Echo Chamber Effect

The echo chamber effect is a phenomenon where people with similar ideas, beliefs, and manners intensify their ideas and thoughts with the pleasure of being approved, whereas people with opposing ideas and beliefs sink into silence. This is one of the biggest barriers to the development of a free and democratic environment for ideas and beliefs, and it is crucial for the democratic perspective on the freedom of expression on social media. This issue is a serious problem because the oppressive view and opinion environment strengthens practices that exclude diversity. This research aimed to descriptively examine tweets in terms of their significant hints provided through the creation of the echo chamber. The hashtag “#SUSyalMedyaYasası” (#Socialmedialaw)-related tweets were selected as the trending topics. Through descriptive analysis, this study also attempted to describe how the echo chamber concept affected and shaped the belief and idea posts on X. According to the analysis’s findings, the new regulation on social media intensified the echo chamber effect by strengthening some predetermined attitudes and beliefs and weakening others by separating the legislation from its context and content.