Thirty-three students, the majority of whom were from the Faculty of Communication, attended the event held at the Directorate of Communications in Ankara on May 20. The students were accompanied by the society’s advisor, Assistant Professor Hayrullah Yanık. The students traveled to Ankara by a bus provided by the Pamukkale University Rectorate. The summit, which brought together more than one thousand participants from different universities, also attracted significant attention from the national media.

The opening program of the Youth Summit featured speeches by Prof. Dr. Burhanettin Duran, Head of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, and Dr. Osman Aşkın Bak, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Türkiye. Following a break, Prof. Dr. Nebi Miş, General Coordinator of SETA, delivered a speech. The afternoon sessions focused on field experience in journalism and Türkiye’s experience in combating disinformation.

The main agenda of the National Youth Summit, which brought together participants from more than one hundred universities across 75 provinces, was the fight against disinformation. Participants had the opportunity to listen directly to and take notes from experts in the field. The opening speech was delivered by Prof. Dr. Burhanettin Duran, Head of Communications of the Presidency. Prof. Dr. Duran stated that disinformation is no longer merely a matter of misinformation but a structural security issue affecting the new generation’s perception of reality, attention span, psychology, and social relationships. In his speech, Duran said: “The aim is not only to spread false information; it is to reduce people’s trust in one another, discredit institutions, and weaken social solidarity.” Emphasizing the importance of critical thinking, Duran stressed the need to develop awareness against psychological manipulation and to raise conscious digital citizens.

Speaking during the opening program, Dr. Osman Aşkın Bak, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Türkiye, highlighted the importance of disinformation combat societies in this struggle and stated that they support such societies within the scope of ÜNİDES. Pointing out that young people should question the accuracy of the information they encounter on social media, Minister Bak continued: “They say this is true, but you should definitely investigate whether it is true or not. By the time the truth gets on its feet, the lie has already traveled around the world. We need to reach accurate information more quickly.” Minister Bak also invited 300 students attending the summit to national football matches. Following the break, Prof. Dr. Nebi Miş, General Coordinator of SETA, delivered a speech titled “Who Will Protect the Truth and How?”

In the first afternoon session, DHA General Manager Cemal Coşkun, Akşam Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Mustafa Kartoğlu, TRT Deputy General Manager Mücahid Eker, and STAR News Editor-in-Chief Nazlı Çelik participated as speakers. The session, moderated by Kasım İleri, Head of the Strategic Communication and Crisis Management Department of the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, focused on the topic “Truth and News: Field Experience in Journalism.” Before the second session, Deniz Demir, Coordinator of the Disinformation Combat Center, provided information on Türkiye’s experience in combating disinformation. The second session was attended by Doğukan Gezer, Editor-in-Chief of GZT; Ömer Faruk Görçin, Manager of the Anadolu Agency Verification Line; Hamza Özdemir, Digital Strategy and Social Media Director of Turkuvaz Media Group; and Yasin Tekşen, Editor-in-Chief of GDH. The session was moderated by Aslan Değirmenci, Digital Media Coordinator of the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications. The topic discussed was “Disinformation in Digital Media and the New Generation Content Ecosystem.” The program concluded with a photo session.