Kriz Durumlarında Suriyelilere Yönelik Toplumsal Söylemin Sosyal Medyada İnşası: 2024 Kayseri Olayları Üzerine Bir Araştırma

This study examines the Kayseri events, which began on June 30, 2024, following the public dissemination of allegations that a child had been abused by a person claimed to be Syrian. These allegations triggered reactions from the local population against Syrians, escalating into violent acts and ultimately leading to a societal crisis. The study aims to analyze how and in what context social discourse towards Syrians is shaped on social media platforms during crises. Accordingly, a total of 1,568 entries under five different topics on one of the prominent online social media platforms, Ekşi Sözlük, were examined using content analysis methods, including word cloud analysis, thematic analysis, and sentiment analysis. Following the sentiment analysis, the Hate Speech Intensity Scale was applied to entries classified as negative. Findings from the word cloud analysis indicate that discussions primarily revolved around the themes of “identity, security, and politics.” Thematic analysis results reveal that the most frequently observed themes were anti-immigrant sentiment (30.7%), criticisms of current migration policies (27.2%), and racism (16.4%). Moreover 82.5% of the analyzed entries were classified as negative and supportive of attacks against Syrians. These entries prominently fell under “Level 4: Demonizing and Dehumanizing (28.4%)” and “Level 5: Violence (21.3%)” categories within the Hate Speech Intensity Scale. These findings demonstrate that, during crises, social discourse towards Syrians on social media is shaped by racism, xenophobia, and hate speech.