In May 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AKP secured yet another consecutive electoral victory. This win extended their over 20 years of rule, despite a severe economic crisis, political fallout from devastating earthquakes, and increasingly repressive governance. This talk examines the powerful role various forms of media – news, social, entertainment – play in this surprising outcome. Dr. Hintz identifies the political economy factors shaping the ruling party’s control over private as well as state media, and unpacks how this control facilitates strategies of regime legitimation, nation-building, and opposition vilification at home. She also examines how the AKP’s power projection abroad, via cultural exports such as TV dramas to Europe and the Middle East, bolsters its continued rule. While providing a deep dive into Turkey, the talk offers implications for wider studies of authoritarian consolidation.