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Turkish Pikachu Protestor

Added 11 days ago / Updated 10 days ago
Pikachu

Submission   1,153

Part of a series on Erdoğan. [View Related Entries]

Navigation
About • Origin • Spread • Various Examples • Search Interest • External References • Recent Images

About

The Turkish Pikachu Protestor participated in a series of anti-Erdogan protests in Antalya, Turkey (Türkiye), with videos of the man running around in a full-sized inflatable Pikachu costume making the rounds on Twitter / X in late March 2025. The costumed man was participating in protests against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on what many citizens believe to be dubious allegations of corruption. The Turkish Pikachu Protestor went viral after a video of him and several protestors running away from riot police went viral on X, after which more videos of the man milling around and taking photos with his fans began making the rounds online. Some viral AI-generated photos of him at the protest also notably caused confusion after people shared the images, believing them to be real.

Origin

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested on March 19th, 2025, sparking widespread protests across Turkey. Authorities charged İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with corruption and alleged links to terrorism, accusations he denies. In response, thousands took to the streets in cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, denouncing the arrest as politically motivated and an attack on democracy.[1]

On March 27th, Instagram[10] users @onearmhasan and @kizatasozu posted a video of several protestors, including a man dressed in a Pikachu costume, running away from tear gas in Antalya, Turkey. The caption closely translates to, "Even if you're pikachu, you'll eat that gas…" The post gathered over 17,000 likes in a day.

Also on March 27th, 2025, Turkish news outlet @HaberReport[2] shared a video to X showing several protestors running away from riot police during the anti-Erdoğan protests in Istanbul, Turkey. The post, which gathered over 80,000 likes, translates to, "Pikachu was also among those affected by the gas: "Not today!""

Instagram[11] user @onearmhasan made several posts claiming to be the man in the Pikachu costume on March 27th, including one with a caption that translates to, "Pikachu took to the streets because he couldn't use his special powers due to the price hikes in electricity." The post gathered over 130,000 likes in a day.

Spread

Also on March 27th, 2025, the official X[3] account of the Republican People's Party reposted the video of Pikachu running, writing, "What can pepper spray do to you and me that even affects Pikachu? #ResistPikachu." The post gathered over 40,000 likes in a day.

The video was also reposted to Reddit's[4] /r/interesting subreddit by Redditor /u/ksarumaru, where it gathered over 90,000 upvotes in a day. The image was also shared to /r/AccidentalRennaisance,[5] where it gathered over 30,000 upvotes before it was deleted.

On March 27th, Turkish[8] media outlet and X account @aykiricomtr shared another angle of the protestor, showing him scurrying through a crowd and being followed by another costumed protestor. The video gathered over 50,000 likes in a day.

Later on March 27th, 2025, X[6] user @Jake_Hanrahan posted an AI-generated photo depicting a person in a Pikachu costume running from riot police. The post gathered over 190,000 likes and the false image received a Community Note clarifying that it is AI.

Several internet users shared an AI-generated photo depicting a person in a Pikachu costume running from riot police, including @Jake_Hanrahan. While reports of a costumed man at the protests are true, the specific image shared by @Jake_Hanrahan was proven to be AI generated.

Also on March 27th, X[7] user @zihinselorgazm wrote, "Some people are against such things, saying that the actions are losing their seriousness. I disagree. On the contrary, I think that these and similar things are shaking the seriousness of the government. Nothing can humiliate the government more in the eyes of the people than a government with thousands of police chasing after a Pikachu." The post gathered over 100,000 likes in a day.

Some Turkish citizens debated the ethics of dressing up in costumes to protest, with @zihinselorgazm writing, "Some people are against such things, saying that the actions are losing their seriousness. I disagree. On the contrary, I think that these and similar things are shaking the seriousness of the government."

That same day, Akdeniz University student and photojournalist @ismailkoceroglu posted a photo of several costumed protestors posing with the Turkish Pikachu Protestor and local police to his Instagram[9] Story.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

[1] BBC – Why thousands are protesting Imamoglu's arrest

[2] Twitter / X – HaberReport

[3] Twitter / X – CHP_iletisim

[4]  Reddit – /r/interesting

[5] Reddit – /r/AccidentalRenaissance

[6] Twitter / X – /r/Jake_Hanrahan

[7] Twitter / X – zihinselorgazm

[8] Twitter / X – aykiricomtr

[9] Instagram – ismailkoceroglu

[10] Instagram – kizatasozu and onearmhasan

[11] Instagram – onearmhasan

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Turkish Pikachu Protestor image examples.

Turkish Pikachu Protestor

Part of a series on Erdoğan. [View Related Entries]

Updated Mar 28, 2025 at 12:44PM EDT by Zach.

Added Mar 28, 2025 at 04:37AM EDT by sakshi.

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About

The Turkish Pikachu Protestor participated in a series of anti-Erdogan protests in Antalya, Turkey (Türkiye), with videos of the man running around in a full-sized inflatable Pikachu costume making the rounds on Twitter / X in late March 2025. The costumed man was participating in protests against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on what many citizens believe to be dubious allegations of corruption. The Turkish Pikachu Protestor went viral after a video of him and several protestors running away from riot police went viral on X, after which more videos of the man milling around and taking photos with his fans began making the rounds online. Some viral AI-generated photos of him at the protest also notably caused confusion after people shared the images, believing them to be real.

Origin

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested on March 19th, 2025, sparking widespread protests across Turkey. Authorities charged İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with corruption and alleged links to terrorism, accusations he denies. In response, thousands took to the streets in cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, denouncing the arrest as politically motivated and an attack on democracy.[1]

On March 27th, Instagram[10] users @onearmhasan and @kizatasozu posted a video of several protestors, including a man dressed in a Pikachu costume, running away from tear gas in Antalya, Turkey. The caption closely translates to, "Even if you're pikachu, you'll eat that gas…" The post gathered over 17,000 likes in a day.



Also on March 27th, 2025, Turkish news outlet @HaberReport[2] shared a video to X showing several protestors running away from riot police during the anti-Erdoğan protests in Istanbul, Turkey. The post, which gathered over 80,000 likes, translates to, "Pikachu was also among those affected by the gas: "Not today!""


Instagram[11] user @onearmhasan made several posts claiming to be the man in the Pikachu costume on March 27th, including one with a caption that translates to, "Pikachu took to the streets because he couldn't use his special powers due to the price hikes in electricity." The post gathered over 130,000 likes in a day.



Spread

Also on March 27th, 2025, the official X[3] account of the Republican People's Party reposted the video of Pikachu running, writing, "What can pepper spray do to you and me that even affects Pikachu? #ResistPikachu." The post gathered over 40,000 likes in a day.


The video was also reposted to Reddit's[4] /r/interesting subreddit by Redditor /u/ksarumaru, where it gathered over 90,000 upvotes in a day. The image was also shared to /r/AccidentalRennaisance,[5] where it gathered over 30,000 upvotes before it was deleted.

On March 27th, Turkish[8] media outlet and X account @aykiricomtr shared another angle of the protestor, showing him scurrying through a crowd and being followed by another costumed protestor. The video gathered over 50,000 likes in a day.


Later on March 27th, 2025, X[6] user @Jake_Hanrahan posted an AI-generated photo depicting a person in a Pikachu costume running from riot police. The post gathered over 190,000 likes and the false image received a Community Note clarifying that it is AI.


Several internet users shared an AI-generated photo depicting a person in a Pikachu costume running from riot police, including @Jake_Hanrahan. While reports of a costumed man at the protests are true, the specific image shared by @Jake_Hanrahan was proven to be AI generated.

Also on March 27th, X[7] user @zihinselorgazm wrote, "Some people are against such things, saying that the actions are losing their seriousness. I disagree. On the contrary, I think that these and similar things are shaking the seriousness of the government. Nothing can humiliate the government more in the eyes of the people than a government with thousands of police chasing after a Pikachu." The post gathered over 100,000 likes in a day.


Some Turkish citizens debated the ethics of dressing up in costumes to protest, with @zihinselorgazm writing, "Some people are against such things, saying that the actions are losing their seriousness. I disagree. On the contrary, I think that these and similar things are shaking the seriousness of the government."

That same day, Akdeniz University student and photojournalist @ismailkoceroglu posted a photo of several costumed protestors posing with the Turkish Pikachu Protestor and local police to his Instagram[9] Story.

Various Examples


Search Interest

External References

[1] BBC – Why thousands are protesting Imamoglu's arrest

[2] Twitter / X – HaberReport

[3] Twitter / X – CHP_iletisim

[4]  Reddit – /r/interesting

[5] Reddit – /r/AccidentalRenaissance

[6] Twitter / X – /r/Jake_Hanrahan

[7] Twitter / X – zihinselorgazm

[8] Twitter / X – aykiricomtr

[9] Instagram – ismailkoceroglu

[10] Instagram – kizatasozu and onearmhasan

[11] Instagram – onearmhasan

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