The second panel of the panel series titled "Different Approaches to Combating Disinformation" organized within the scope of the “Utilizing Digital Technology for Social Cohesion, Positive Messaging and Peace by Boosting Collaboration, Exchange and Solidarity” project was held on December 6, 2022 at the Hrant Dink Foundation’s Havak Hall. The panel was broadcasted live on the foundation's YouTube account in English and Turkish. The panel was moderated by Banu Tuna from Truth Justice Memory Center, and the panelists included Onur Varol from Sabancı University, Kerem Altıparmak from the Freedom of Expression Association, and Pınar Dağ from Kadir Has University.

Onur Varol started his speech by talking about social bot accounts that can be used as tools for disinformation and whose sources are difficult to determine. He mentioned that bot accounts in social networks are used for different purposes and touched upon the role and importance of bots in disinformation mechanisms. He emphasized that the misinformation content shared by bot accounts is largely recirculated by people. He also mentioned that bot accounts develop strategies by tagging and commenting on the accounts of popular persons to attract attention to misinformation content. Varol gave various examples of the tools they developed for the detection of bot accounts in social media. He noted that bot accounts have been frequently used by political parties and individuals in election campaigns in the last 10 years in the world. He underlined the need to think about how algorithms can create bot ecosystems. In his presentation, Varol stated that the answer to the question of what a bot account is can change for different segments of society such as academics, journalists, and Twitter users.

Kerem Altıparmak started his presentation by stating that authoritarian regimes built the public discussion space on prohibitions and set the framework for the discussions. He gave various examples of the restrictions on social media in Turkey. He talked about the existence of methods by which the course of the debates is completely directed instead of banning public debates and he remarked that this method has become dominant over time in Turkey. As a result of social media turning from a space of freedom into a field of manipulation, he said that it harms freedom of expression. He emphasized that the pluralistic effect of social media, especially in Turkey, is decreasing. He touched upon the tools used by the existing legal order that had an impact on the disappearance of public debate and he mentioned that disinformation law was the last move in that direction. Altıparmak talked about the articles of Law No. 5651, which is related to the disinformation law, and the access blocking decisions on social media content. He mentioned that especially three articles of the same law are critical articles associated with the disinformation law. He noted that the clauses contained unpredictable and ambiguous expressions and this is precisely why the decisions to block access introduced through these clauses hindered public debate. In this frame, he noted that the social media sphere, where the public debate partially continues, has been completely excluded from the public sphere with the latest disinformation law. He explained the regulations introduced by the disinformation law through the press law, the disinformation provision and the internet. Commenting on the article in the disinformation law under the category of "crime of overtly disseminating misleading information to the public", he concluded his presentation by talking about the regulations introduced to internet network providers such as managing content through the new law and eliminating anonymity and by emphasizing the risks brought about by unpredictability.

Pınar Dağ started her presentation by talking about the importance of data journalism in the struggle with disinformation. Dağ defined a data journalist as a person who collects data, gathers and verifies the data that collects, analyzes it, and then visualizes the data and turns it into news. In her speech, she emphasized that the purpose of data journalism is for the public interest. Stating that data journalism focuses on how to work with developing and growing data, she underlined that data journalists collaborate with different disciplines while working with big data. She mentioned the similar problems that different newsrooms encounter in collecting data and the methods they use when working with data. She gave examples of studies conducted in different countries in the field of data journalism and data verification methods. Dağ concluded her presentation by sharing suggestions that journalists can implement, such as learning to doubt before sharing data, being visual, data and media literate, learning verification methods, reading metadata, and following verification platforms.

This project is financed by the European Union.