The perception regime is winning, reality is losing! So, what should the opposition do?

I am one of those who have accepted from the very beginning that the problem in Turkey is not limited to the government alone, and that the opposition constitutes a problem area at least as serious as the government itself.

There are countless examples of this. Throughout the nearly 25-year AKP rule, we have all watched how structures that define themselves as "opposition" have been helplessly swept away in the face of the regime. There is no need to even count the names who spin like weather vanes, defend the exact opposite of what they said yesterday, change parties, or switch sides.

Nevertheless, many developments are still occurring that we find difficult to understand.

While one of the greatest wealth transfers in Turkish history is taking place; while the public is trying to collect food from newly opened markets selling expired products; while retirees are struggling to hold onto life in a miserable state; and while salaries that trample on human dignity are deemed appropriate for citizens, the opposition is unable to put forward an effective, results-oriented opposition.

The government's relentless contradictions cannot be explained in the public squares.

How they collude with imperialism and how the country is being dragged into dangerous processes cannot be shown to the public through documents, videos, and organized social media campaigns.

How our lands, water, mines, and bays are being handed over; how and why our forests are being burned cannot be explained.

The government's corruption and profiteering are confined to the social media posts of a few members of parliament. Billion-dollar robberies and developments that could create international crises cannot be conveyed to the masses.

The collapse of the healthcare system; children not being fed properly; hygiene problems in schools, including the lack of even basic soap; and the severe weaknesses and shortcomings in earthquake-stricken regions are not being effectively communicated to the public.

The collapsed judicial system and developments that fundamentally shake the citizens' faith in justice are not reaching broad segments of society.

The experiences of people who fall into the hands of illegal betting gangs, sell their homes and belongings, and are driven to suicide; the exploitation of young girls into prostitution; and the reasons behind those who take their own lives are being ignored.  

While gangs terrorize the streets and citizens can no longer walk safely, the source of these security problems is not being etched into people's minds. Truth has a habit of coming out sooner or later, but when it is not told, even the truth can remain ineffective.

On the other hand, when we look at the ruling front, we see that they do not hesitate to market even non-existent realities as if they were true, using their hardened trolls, former mayors who are miles away from any sense of shame, and their hitmen who call themselves 'journalists'.They do this without hesitation.

They can circulate a disgusting bulletin with the headline 'Üsküdar Municipality is parading Santa Claus' by having someone walk around in a Santa Claus costume and taking a photo from a distance.

They portray their own areas of responsibility as if they were someone else's and throw them in front of the public. They are openly conducting counter-propaganda using public resources and municipal billboards. We have all seen that the AKP has launched a massive propaganda offensive in Istanbul, again using public taxes.

There is a very simple truth that the opposition must now understand: It must realize that it has not achieved results with the methods it has tried so far. Facts should be shown on screens set up for the crowds gathered in the squares. Everything must be laid out with full transparency, using real accounts, without resorting to troll-like tendencies, and through real people and genuine discourse.

The distortions of the political Islamist regime, its intertwined contradictions, and its diametrically opposed rhetoric and actions must be conveyed to the public. Who they partner with and who they trade with must be explained with documentation.

Of course, all political entities that claim to stand against the AKP government, especially the leadership of the Republican People's Party (CHP), will say they have done their best. They will remind us that they have shouted in the squares, explained everything, and been thrown into prison.  

It is precisely at this point that a moment of awareness is needed. Because what is being done is either incomplete or wrong. For the expected impact is not being created. The society is not reaching a true sense of awareness.

Yet, the AKP government, which possesses unlimited resources, creates new stories every day. It lumps people into the same bag. The traces of FETÖ's perception and propaganda tactics are clearly visible. Perception processes are managed consciously. Propaganda apparatuses claiming to be journalists and trolls are activated. The public is targeted through hours of broadcasts on media outlets fed by public resources and the people's money.

And we see that the best thing the AKP does in line with its own interests is to find people who have no shame and will never have any, and incorporate them into its structure.