“Where are You, My Love? I am Here My Love!”: The Role of Emotions in Practicing Citizen Journalism During Gezi Park Movement in Turkiye*

Abstract

The Gezi Park movement evolved from a series of protests against an urban development project near Taksim Square in Istanbul into a large-scale uprising against the conservative and Islamist policies of the Justice and Development Party (JDP). In the absence of adequate reporting from traditional media, citizens stepped in to fill the gap, taking on the role of journalists. Citizen journalism is the act of individuals gathering, reporting, and sharing news and information. This chapter aims to examine how the emotions of protest participants inspired the formation of citizen media during the height of the protests. The study reveals how eight citizen media outlets helped to address the void left by traditional media, offering an alternative source of information and emotional connection for those involved in the movement. The findings underline the essential role citizen media obtains in times of social crisis, marked by political pressure and censorship. © 2026 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.