President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan officially joined Next Sosyal this week as the locally built social media platform crossed the milestone of one million users. The development is seen as an important step in Türkiye’s efforts to strengthen its presence in the digital space through homegrown technologies. Selcuk Bayraktar, who chairs both the Teknofest Executive Board and the Board of Trustees of the Türkiye Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation), confirmed the achievement, stating that Next Sosyal has become the country’s “most social platform” after gaining rapid traction in recent months. The platform, developed under the leadership of the T3 Foundation, has quickly emerged as the most downloaded free app in the “social network” category across mobile app stores.
Next Sosyal first entered public view with its beta launch on July 4, after which it experienced steady growth and widespread adoption. Its rapid expansion has highlighted the appetite for local alternatives to foreign-owned platforms and the increasing role of domestic innovation in Türkiye’s digital ecosystem. Upon joining, Erdoğan marked his debut on the platform with a post quoting a line from Turkish poet Erdem Bayazıt’s work Soon the Day Will Rise, writing, “A flower sprouted between concrete walls.” His message was accompanied by the question “Are you ready?” as well as the hashtag “We’re starting,” paired with the Turkish flag, a rocket, and Earth emojis. Erdoğan’s entry is expected to give further visibility to Next Sosyal at a time when interest in locally developed platforms is growing.
Developers of Next Sosyal have described it as a space primarily designed for sharing updates on news, technology, lifestyle, and current events. They emphasize its distinction from global competitors by highlighting the absence of misinformation, profanity, fake bot accounts, and manipulative algorithms. In addition to these promises, the platform integrates AI features to enhance user experience. A key part of this integration is T3 AI, a large language model jointly created by the T3 Foundation and Baykar. This system is designed to interact with users by providing fast responses to tagged posts, boosting engagement and participation across the platform.
Another notable aspect of Next Sosyal is its contribution from young programmers who continue to refine its technical framework. Applications built by these developers are integrated into the platform to improve security and reliability, particularly through advanced misinformation detection tools. This approach reflects a collaborative model in which innovation, local expertise, and technological infrastructure are brought together to build a sustainable alternative for social networking. With its fast adoption rate and backing from national leadership, Next Sosyal is positioning itself as a significant player in Türkiye’s growing digital media landscape.
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