Do you remember the Knight Rider? I guess I am getting nostalgic. I have started watching my childhood favorite TV show, Knight Rider. It took decades to have self-driving cars. Contemporary critical reception Many mainstream TV critics in the 1980s dismissed Knight Rider as shallow and…

A video: “How Facebook Marketplace Amassed More Shoppers Than Amazon” Facebook's Marketplace Growth Massive User Base: Since its launch in 2016, Facebook Marketplace has attracted 1.1 billion users across 70 countries, making it one of the largest platforms for secondhand sales, alongside eBay and…

Archeology of Bosphorus Yesterday I met a guy whom I last saw more than 10 years ago. He seems to be doing very well in video-making for advertising purposes. But I admired his excitement about an undersea documentary he wants to make in the Bosphorus.  He even bought a boat for this. Let's see…

Whose Truth Gets Optimized? AI and the New Epistemic Order Whose Truth Gets Optimized? AI and the New Epistemic Order This is an edited version of my keynote talk delivered at the IV. International Communication, Digitalization and Society Symposium (ICDS), Istanbul Aydın University, April 28,…

A video: “Microsoft Destroyed Outlook. Then Called It an Upgrade” Key Insights by Merlin AI Historical Significance of Outlook - Microsoft Outlook has been a cornerstone of professional communication since its launch, with over 450 million users in 2024. - It integrated email, calendar, contacts,…

My talk at the Artificial Intelligence, Manipulation, and Media Literacy Summit in Cyprus I attended the Artificial Intelligence, Manipulation, and Media Literacy Summit in Cyprus yesterday.  Session 3 was in a question-and-answer format, which I prefer to just speaking. I asked Claude.ai to…

A video: “How Google Maps Mapped The World” Key Insights by Merlin AI Google Maps Evolution - Google has been mapping the world for over 20 years, launching its Street View feature in 2007. - Initial camera systems were bulky, weighing up to 500 pounds, but have since evolved to lighter, more…

Ursula von der Leyen classified Türkiye along with China and Russia I believe she will regret this. After all those years of membership negotiations with the country, her rotten conscience cannot accept Türkiye as part of Europe. Maybe that's a good thing for Turks, I don't know. Like Biden, her…

You need Türkiye (!): EU population to fall by 12% by 2100 Here is a report from Euronews: EU population to fall by 12% by 2100: Which countries will decline the most? EU Population Decline to 2100 Overall Projection EU population falls from 452M to 399M (−11.7%) between 2025–2100 18 of 30…

Palantir’s manifesto at X Palantir occupies a more extreme place in Silicon Valley but represents a new, growing ethos Big Tech is developing. We have seen the company's official X message today. A few early comments: This is the nationalist turn. Big Tech now explicitly acts as an agent of a…

Müzeverse in İstanbul erkansaka.net/2026/04/19/m...

Müzeverse in İstanbul I recently visited Müzeverse at Galataport, İstanbul. Müzeverse is a location‑based virtual reality (VR) museum in Istanbul that offers large‑scale, immersive historical experiences and markets itself as Türkiye’s first dedicated VR museum.[1][2][3] Although I believe in the…

A video: “The History of the Music Video” The history of music videos is not just an artistic evolution but a history of media infrastructures shaping how music is seen, circulated, and monetized. Origins of the Music Video The concept of combining film and music predates modern music videos, with…

Microsoft and other US tech firms lobbied the European Commission to hide data center emissions! I first saw the news at the Guardian and asked Perplexity to do a roundup. Here is the issue: What the investigation actually found An investigation by Investigate Europe, published with the Guardian…

How Iran, the US, and Israel Fought for Narrative Control: The New Ecology of War Propaganda I wanted to collect propaganda content for all sides during the war for the record. Here is what ChatGPT's deep research found out. It looks like this is not just propaganda in the traditional sense, but a…

End of Orbán’s rule in Hungary Viktor Orbán’s landslide election loss in April 2026 marks the end of 16 years of illiberal rule in Hungary and is widely read as a major setback for the European far‑right and its allies, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President Donald…

Thanks God, A ceasefire. Reactions to the Iran-US-Israel Two-Week Ceasefire (April 8, 2026) Of course, if only Israel allow it... Reactions to the Iran-US-Israel Two-Week Ceasefire (April 8, 2026) Overview On April 7–8, 2026, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, announced…

A video: ” The Rise and Fall of OpenClaw” OpenClaw, a viral open-source AI agent launched in 2026, promises to control your computer autonomously—but quickly exposed major security risks. Key Insights by Merlin AI Overview of OpenClaw - OpenClaw emerged in early 2026 as a highly anticipated AI…

Our new book project! Call for Chapters: Turkish Television Series in Transformation erkansaka.net/2026/04/04/c...

What Was Revealed with the Cloud Leak? Claude Code Source Code Leak: What Was Revealed Reactions have been a mix of fascination, alarm, and ridicule, while Anthropic has tried to frame it as an embarrassing but contained packaging error with no user-data impact. How Anthropic Responded Anthropic…

A video: “From Bankruptcy To Billions: The Rebirth Of HP” HP’s decline under Carly Fiorina stemmed from cultural disruption, a troubled mega‑merger, and alienated employees, while its later “rebirth” under Mark Hurd shows how the same merger could succeed with disciplined execution and quieter…

CPJ: Israel kills more journalists than any nation on record CPJ’s 2025 record and the new wartime totals The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported in late February 2026 that 2025 was the deadliest year ever recorded for the press, with 129 journalists and media workers killed worldwide…

A video: “The rise and fall of TED” Key Insights  by Merlin AI HISTORY OF TED TED was co-founded in 1984 by Richard Saul Worman and Harry Markx, initially as a conference focused on technology, entertainment, and design. The first TED conference featured groundbreaking demonstrations, such as…

A few media appearances and activities this week (Bianet, Anadolu Agency, MESAM) Here I show up in Anadolu Agency's YouTube documentary on social media addictions. Well, you know me, I tried to be as objective as possible, and I am always distant from technological addiction rhetoric. Here I show…

A video: “The RAM Crisis is Worse Than You Think…” Key Insights by Merlin AI RAM Price Surge and AI Demand - RAM prices have skyrocketed, with increases as high as 314%, primarily driven by the surging demand from AI applications. - The focus has shifted from traditional DRAM to HBM…

Disinformation and War Propaganda in the Iran-Israel-US War (As of 23 March 2026) When I saw this A wave of posts claimed Benjamin Netanyahu was dead. Here’s how it spread. I realized it is time to update the disinformation patterns: Disinformation and War Propaganda in the Iran-Israel-US War (As…

Allegedly, the EU cuts Hungary out of sensitive talks I saw this Politico news, EU cuts Hungary out of sensitive talks over leaking-to-Russia fears, diplomats say and I asked Perplexity to do more inquiries on this. Here is the report: The claim that “the EU is cutting Hungary out of sensitive…

A few days in Kaunas, Lithuania I have attended a workshop of a COST project, and now I am flying back to İstanbul. The workshop took place on 19-20 March 2026 at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania.  RELINK2 is one of the COST projects I could align my studies with. Glad to be part of…

Educational careers of American and Iranian leaders at war Below is a broad, data-style mapping of the educational careers of leading Iranian and U.S. political/military figures involved in the 2026 war, separated into living and killed leaders where relevant. Iranian leaders (living)

Recommended: “The Mechanical Atatürk: Cybernetics and State Violence in the Second Turkish Republic” erkansaka.net/2026/03/20/c...

A video: “Why Even Harvard University is Getting Empty Nowadays” Key Insights by ( Impact of AI on Employment Opportunities - The unemployment rate for recent college graduates (ages 22-27) has risen to 5.8%, nearly double the rate for older workers with degrees. - Industries like finance and…

Claude vs. Perplexity: How They Help Users with Computer Tasks erkansaka.net/2026/03/16/c...

How Kürecik and İncirlik Tie Türkiye to the Iran War Kürecik and Incirlik bases in Türkiye together form a tightly linked “eyes and fists” system for the US and NATO against Iran: Kürecik is the early‑warning radar, Incirlik is the main operational hub that can act on that data.[1][2][3][4][5][6]…

İlber Ortaylı (1947–2026): The Historian, the Media Celebrity, and the Ideologue I was once a trainer in an EU-funded project, and I spent a few hours with Prof. Ortaylı in 2015 in one of its workshops. I was really anxious about whether he would make fun of me, but he did not (!). According to…

AI Translation and Linguistic Colonialism: The New Role of the Translator When Algorithms Translate: Linguistic Colonialism, Data Sovereignty, and the New Role of the Translator This post is based on a talk I delivered at the panel "Translation and the Role of the Translator in Digital…

A video: AI in Warfare AI in Military Operations - The Pentagon has begun employing Anthropic's AI model, Claude, for military operations, marking a significant shift in modern warfare tactics. - AI has been utilized in key operations, including the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro…

Update to the War Disinformation report, My talk at CNBC-E Today I was invited to a talk at CNBCE Turkey. The topic was, of course, war, AI, and disinformation. While I was preparing for the talk, I updated my previous report on disinformation in the current war. A few instances of interest: 1-…

A video: “The Rise and Fall of Corporate Consulting” Nobody will cry after the corporate consulting, but in this state of affairs, they will continue to profit. I am sure! Key Insights by Merlin AI The Legacy of Swiss Air: A Cautionary Tale Swiss Air was once celebrated as a national symbol of…

Spain as the new “kardeş ülke” (brother country)! There's a massive, viral trend on Turkish X right now (early March 2026) where Turkish users are celebrating Spain as the new "kardeş ülke" (brother country). The reason? Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez's firm "No to war" stance — specifically refusing to…

How many times Americans allegedly betrayed Kurds? As Israel and the US are planning to support Kurdish militias on the ground against Iran, here is a reminder: There is no single agreed-upon number, but historians and journalists usually highlight 4–7 major episodes where US policy is widely…

Disinformation in the Iran-Israel-US War: Major Cases and Patterns as of 6 March 2026 erkansaka.net/2026/03/06/i...

Anna’s Archive resists with new domain names Anna’s Archive is still online and active, but it is under heavy legal and domain pressure, and its main .org and several country domains have recently been suspended or deleted. Domains and access The original annas-archive.org domain was put into…

Chronicle of a war: Day 5 and 6 – (3-4 March 2026) Here is what we have received so far: Turkey announces downing of Iranian ballistic missile Day 5 – 3 March 2026

Thoughts on academic life (8)- The Accreditation Trap- Quality Assurance or Bureaucratic Theater? erkansaka.net/2026/03/04/a...

Chronicle of a war: Day 4 – 2 March 2026 The obstacles encountered by an Iranian missile until it reaches its target (listed in the attached 28 points) are listed. Artificial intelligence converted this into a graph. There is no direct confrontation on the ground. There is a massive, organized,…

A video: “What Really Killed MSN Messenger?” Nostalgia and Social Dynamics of MSN Messenger - MSN Messenger was more than a chat app; it was a social ritual that shaped online interactions, fostering feelings of excitement and connection. - Features like the green dot signaled availability,…

Chronicle of a war: Day 3 (1 March 2026) erkansaka.net/2026/03/02/i...

Chronicle of a war: Day 3 (1 March 2026)

Chronicle of a war: 28 February 2026 – Day 1 and 29 February 2026 – Day 2 Joint US–Israeli operation hits leadership, IRGC and military sites around Tehran and other locations, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior commanders. This is a list of retaliatory acts by Iran and its…

As power users migrate to Claude.ai, How to Use It More Productively Anthropic's Claude has experienced a dramatic rise in early 2026, fueled by a high-profile Pentagon dispute, a viral Super Bowl ad campaign, and a wave of new model releases. Meanwhile, ChatGPT's market share has eroded as users…