While many politicians write biographies prior to running for office and after their term is over, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan already has had a documentary made about him. Teasers and full-page newspaper ads were released about the documentary for weeks. On the evening of Sept. 3, the documentary aired on Beyaz TV, a channel that belongs to Osman Gokcek, son of Ankara's mayor. Serving his fourth term, Ankara's mayor is a longtime notable member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Just this fact was sufficient to initiate rumors that this was the mayor’s way to get into good graces with the “master” for the upcoming elections. 

Prior to the airing of the show, social media was already divided into two sparring hashtags. Those who support Erdogan were tweeting with the name of the documentary — #ustaninhikayesi (saga of the master). The documentary has a web page  and even its own Twitter account. The opponents, not that professionally organized, were ending their tweets with #ustaneayol (what does usta mean really?) — brushing off the show. During the show, Erdogan’s adviser team was active on Twitter. One adviser, Cemalettin Hasimi, tweeted with confidence: “The story of a leader’s life has been told several times, but is now being watched as if it was the first time. That is the heart of the matter. #ustaninhikayesi.” Surprisingly, Hasimi was wrong. The documentary was only watched by a small number of viewers. Given the media hype, it was surprising to see that it did not make it into the top 100 rating list for the evening.

What was even more intriguing was that on Sept. 4, the top trending topic on Turkish Twitter was #pabucumunustasi (master of my shoe), which mocked the documentary. Immediately, a counter-hashtag appeared: #ustaninpabucubileolamazsiniz (you cannot even be the master's shoe). You may think this all sounds rather childish, but when Ankara's mayor tweets this: “You chapuljus tearing yourself apart #you cannot even be the master's shoe,” it gains political significance. Reactions to the show have been strong — so much so that another TV channel was to air “The Real Saga of the Master” on Sept. 5, as a response to the original documentary.

The documentary is well-crafted with extreme flattery of the prime minister. It only has popular figures such as actors, singers and athletes speak about Erdogan. None of Erdogan’s real-life companions — that is, childhood friends, opponents, extended family, mentors or anyone else in daily contact with Erdogan — with the exception of Abdullah Gul, the president, appear in the documentary. It is an uphill battle for Erdogan’s advisers to present the documentary as “genuine” and “sincere” when Hidayet "Hedo" Turkoglu, a Turkish NBA player, appears declaring Erdogan to be an influential leader not only in the United States but all around the world.