Superstar Politics
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stopped being a politician and became a celebrity somewhere along the way. I don’t know exactly when—maybe when YouTube made everyone famous, regardless of what they actually do. Turkish diaspora communities started defending and attacking him the way people do about movies or musicians. Passionate advocates. Passionate critics. Videos from both sides making the case about whether he’s a visionary or a tyrant, which is exactly how people talk about cultural figures, not political leaders.
The algorithm doesn’t distinguish anymore. A pop singer and a controversial politician get the same treatment: charisma, controversy, devoted fans, detractors, engagement. Both become symbols. Both create tribes. Both emerge as entertainment.
It all gets poured into the same mold. Politics enters entertainment and comes out as celebrity culture. Arguments about policy become arguments about character. Good or bad. Visionary or tyrant. The language of fandom applied to governance.
I can’t tell you if he’s good or bad for Turkey. But I know he’s famous—genuinely famous, the way pop stars are famous, which isn’t how politicians should become famous, but it’s the only kind the internet makes anymore.