US EditionViral video: Catch a Pikachu! Pokemon seen fleeing protests against President Erdogan rival’s arrest
- Protests erupted in Istanbul and other parts of Turkey following the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19, who is considered a chief political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- The detention of Imamoglu, facing corruption and terrorism charges, is widely perceived as politically motivated, sparking mass demonstrations across the country.
- Nearly 1,900 people have been detained, and courts have jailed 260 people pending trial as of Thursday, while Turkish financial assets have plunged, prompting the central bank to intervene.
- The protests have taken a surreal turn with viral images and videos, including one depicting a person dressed as Pikachu fleeing police, though some images are confirmed to be AI-generated, raising questions about the authenticity and impact of digitally spread content.
- The situation exemplifies 21st-century resistance, highlighting how internet culture and viral content can reframe political struggles, although some observers, referencing theorists like Guy Debord and Jean Baudrillard, caution that the spectacle may overshadow the underlying political substance and blur the lines between organic protest and orchestrated manipulation.
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84 Articles
In the protests against the Turkish government, a yellow Pokémon-wesen always mixes: Since a video showed how a demonstrator fled from the police in Pikachu costume, the figure has become a symbol of resistance. By C. Steiner. [more]>
In Turkey, hundreds of thousands gathered to protest the opposition against the government on Saturday. They demonstrated for the arrested Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the preservation of democracy. Now even a yellow Pokémon became a political centre ... One of the demonstrators wore an inflatable Pikachu costume. He can be seen on a video on which a crowd in Antalya flees from the police. The officials try to bring the people apart with wa…
In Turkey, a demonstrator's video goes on in a Pokémon costume viral. Government-oriented media see a strategy behind it - the "Pikachu Policy"
Here you can find information on the topic of "Psychological Warfare". Read now "Protest in Turkey: How a Pokémon became a Politikum".
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