INTERNET MEMES BY ESMA KARAGÖZ

Internet memes are one of the new digital phenomena. Memes can be created for the purpose of imitation or emulation and memes can also be defined as a group of internet items that criticize or support information. Internet memes are not just images, they are tangible and considered cultural objects. They can be observed, studied and analyzed, so Internet memes have a cultural meaning. In other words, they are not just artistic or humorous random images, they are actually a very powerful communication tool. Internet memes have an important place and importance especially in the digital world. When constructing a meme, its content, textual structure, stance, and keying are examined. Memes are a visual language that represents ideas and ideologies. Internet users can remain anonymous on social media platforms. Thus, they can easily express themselves in the online world by using memes for their political views that may seem radical in society. Since social media gave this freedom of expression, interest in memes grew rapidly and reached large masses. This situation led to the formation of new social communities. Many of these communities are online communities, their membership is open to anyone, anyone can join, but even if you join, they have a certain set of rules that you have to follow. If you do not follow the rules, your membership may be terminated. Online societies use identity markers to distinguish themselves from other groups, to establish and differentiate their social spaces and boundaries. They use memes to differentiate themselves from other groups. The memes shared on Twitter by the extreme rightists and extreme leftists, which are political groups in Turkey, are an important example of this situation. They have their own groups, communities, they have a common language. For example, if they are going to share memes to discredit someone from the opposing group, they share it by giving examples from history. Even the expressions of insult are different, so they make a culture. They see their own radical thoughts and ideologies as superior, they do not claim to be overly right, but each groups describe themselves as patriotic. They make social distinctions while expressing their own identity. They use image and text tools to define their boundaries and find their identities. The activities of both groups can be observed on Twitter almost every day. If a group is on the agenda with a political event, the other group immediately tries to come up with an opposite hashtag. They feed by categorizing and separating people, and they use internet memes, which is a digital communication way, as a tool.