How Public Turkish-Language Telegram Channels Organize Drug Trade-Facilitating Communication: A Qualitative Content Analysis.

BACKGROUND

The study aims to examine how publicly accessible Turkish-language Telegram channels organize communication related to illicit drug availability and access in Türkiye.

METHODS

We conducted an inductive qualitative content analysis of 3,204 text messages posted in 10 publicly accessible Turkish-language Telegram channels between 3 and 9 November 2025. Messages were retrieved using Telethon, coded in MAXQDA, and analyzed for recurrent patterns in visibility, trust claims, coded language, delivery, location signaling, medicalized framing, and related illicit activity.

RESULTS

The public communicative layer was predominantly seller-led and was used mainly to advertise illicit drugs, announce availability, signal location, claim reliability, warn about fraud, and direct users to more private forms of contact. Messages relied heavily on slang, abbreviations, and emoji-based codes. Sellers frequently used advertising-style language, rapid delivery claims, and brand-like identities to make access appear routine and manageable. Trust claims coexisted with warnings about scammers, police, and informants. Drug-related communication also appeared alongside other illicit offers, including fraud-related services, gambling, weapons, and sexualized solicitation.

CONCLUSION

Public Turkish-language Telegram channels function less as open records of drug transactions than as a seller-led communicative layer through which visibility, trust, location, and contact pathways are publicly organized. These channels make illicit drug access appear searchable and manageable while redirecting interaction into less visible spaces and exposing users to broader digital risks.