Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has viewed social media as a threat for decades. But digital platforms also offer his regime a useful and multifunctional tool for running political campaigns and muddying the waters to distract or direct the public.

Recently, signs have grown that the ruling Justice and Development Party has been successfully employing a technique called “astroturfing” to create the illusion of grassroots support for or against a policy or a person. Two examples have arisen in the last couple of weeks.

First, a young man posted a photo during Ramadan of himself and his friends drinking liquor with a caption that reads, "May the lord accept." The photo, which was shared on his private Instagram account but reached the wider public, drew outrage from Islamists. The employer of the young man, Turkey’s budget carrier Pegasus Airlines, launched an investigation into the matter, forcing the man to take unpaid leave in response to a fierce social media campaign to boycott Pegasus. Prominent columnists close to Erdogan’s party demanded his prosecution. A Turkish prosecutor soon indicted the young man for “inciting hatred and hostility among the public.”

A second incident last week raised further concerns about the Turkish government’s increasing interference in secular life in the name of Islamic citizens. The Mirae KPop concert organized by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and Korean Cultural Center was called off after some social media users initiated a campaign calling for its cancellation, claiming that the band was promoting homosexuality and thereby offending Islamic traditions. The concert was canceled without any official statement.