Digitalization represents not merely a technical transformation but a restructuring of humanity’s relationship with truth, knowledge, and one another. Digital conscience refers to an individual’s ability to evaluate all content produced, shared, consumed, and directed in digital environments through ethical, moral, and human values. This concept establishes a multi-layered sphere of responsibility that encompasses not only individual users but also media institutions, technology companies, algorithm designers, and public authorities.
Luciano Floridi’s Information Ethics approach emphasizes that moral problems arising in digital environments should be addressed not only from a human-centered perspective but also from a system-centered one (Floridi, 2013). This perspective positions digital conscience not merely as an individual intention but as an ethical awareness extending across the entire digital ecosystem.
The Turkish Language Association’s selection of “digital conscience” as its concept of the year for 2025 is a significant indicator drawing attention to the ethical, moral, and spiritual challenges faced by contemporary societies. While digitalization transforms every aspect of life, humanity’s moral compass often loses direction in the face of this rapid change. Digital conscience emerges precisely at this point as a concept that reminds us of the growing responsibility that accompanies technology.
Today, we are no longer merely observers or readers; we are sharers, amplifiers, and influencers. Social media has transformed every user into a potential broadcaster. False information shared with a single click often spreads without any moral deliberation. At this point, digital conscience refers to the awareness of responsibility against insults, online lynching, disinformation, and manipulation, without hiding behind the shield of anonymity. The fundamental question in this new communication order is: Should everything that can be done, be done?
Digital Ethics and Moral Responsibility
Communication in the digital age has become largely mediated. Social media platforms, news websites, and digital networks create a hybrid communication environment in which individuals act as both information producers and disseminators. This situation necessitates a re-evaluation of classical communication ethics principles (truthfulness, objectivity, non-maleficence) within the digital context.
Habermas’s theory of the public sphere emphasizes that communication based on rational and moral foundations is indispensable for democratic societies (Habermas, 1989). However, digital communication environments weaken this rational ground by centering emotional reactions and speed. At this point, digital conscience requires individuals to evaluate their communication acts not only within the framework of “freedom of expression” but also through the lens of “ethical responsibility.”
The spread of disinformation and misinformation is not merely a technical problem but directly a moral and ethical issue. The concept of “information disorder” proposed by Wardle and Derakhshan reveals how information is deliberately or unintentionally distorted in digital media environments (Wardle & Derakhshan, 2017).
In this context, digital conscience becomes an ethical awareness encompassing not only media professionals but also ordinary users. Failing to question the accuracy of shared content may appear as passive behavior in digital environments, yet it carries the potential to produce public harm. Therefore, digital conscience is the fundamental principle that establishes a balance between “the right to access information” and “the obligation to use information responsibly.”
Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Moral Responsibility
Today, discussions on digital conscience are not limited to human behavior but also include algorithmic systems. The principles of “human-centered artificial intelligence,” “ethics,” and “transparency” emphasized in the European Union’s Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI reveal that technology needs a moral framework (EU Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, 2019).
Social media, news platforms, and AI-supported algorithms have the power to shape individuals’ perceptions and behaviors. When this power is not supported by a moral oversight mechanism, it can evolve into a structure that normalizes disinformation, digital lynching, hate speech, and privacy violations.
In recent years, AI-powered deepfake technologies have become central to digital conscience debates. The ability to replicate visual and auditory reality with high accuracy blurs the boundaries between truth and fiction. According to Chesney and Citron, deepfake technologies pose serious threats in terms of damaging individuals’ reputations, political manipulation, and undermining social trust (Chesney & Citron, 2019).
Addressing deepfake content merely as a technological problem is insufficient. The core issue is how moral responsibility is established throughout the processes of production, dissemination, and consumption of such content. Here, digital conscience functions as an ethical reflex centered on the principle of truth. The deliberate distortion of truth constitutes both a legal violation and a profound moral and spiritual transgression.
One of the greatest problems in the digital media age is disinformation. False or distorted information can reach millions within seconds. Moreover, this spread is often fueled not by malicious intent but by negligence and irresponsibility. Yet the outcome remains the same: social trust is damaged, individuals are targeted, and truth becomes obscured.
At this point, digital conscience encompasses not only those who produce lies but also those who disseminate them without questioning. This process, defined as “information disorder” in academic studies, deepens when moral reflexes weaken. Remaining silent or sharing without verification is no longer an innocent act in the digital age.
Although conscience itself cannot be directly coded, it is possible for moral principles to guide algorithmic decision-making processes. This shifts digital conscience from an individual virtue to an institutional and structural sphere of responsibility.
Human Rights and Moral Accountability in the Digital Sphere
One of the fundamental concepts emphasized in Islam is the concept of “rights.” After defining the rights of all living beings and setting their boundaries, Islam commands that each right-holder be given their due and prohibits all actions that constitute rights violations. Foremost among these is kul hakkı (the rights of individuals) (Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu, 2023).
In the Qur’an, Allah states that He created human beings in the best form and honored them (Al-Isra, 17/70; At-Tin, 95/4). Therefore, regardless of race, color, gender, language, religion, or status, human rights are respected and protected in Islam. In his Farewell Sermon, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“O people! Your lives, property, honor, and chastity are sacred until you meet your Lord.”
(Bukhari, Hajj, 132 [1739, 1741])
He also warned that those who violate others’ rights will suffer loss in the Hereafter (Muslim, Birr, 59 [2581]).
Thus, observing the rights of individuals in Islam is an indicator of understanding and internalizing the faith and is one of the primary means of attaining happiness in both this world and the hereafter.
In theological studies, kul hakkı is addressed together with the principle of “the inviolability of human dignity.” According to Hayrettin Karaman, with the proliferation of communication tools in modern societies, the scope of individual rights violations has expanded significantly, and the harm caused by words and writings has become much deeper than in classical periods (Karaman, 2016).
One of the most frequent areas of rights violations in the digital context is slander and backbiting (ghibah). In the Qur’an, backbiting is described as a severe attack on human dignity:
“O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, for some suspicion is sin. Do not spy on one another, nor backbite each other. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?” (Al-Hujurat, 49/12)
In Islamic literature, this verse is interpreted as showing that backbiting is not merely an individual moral problem but an act that destroys social trust (Çağrıcı, 2019). Digital sharing multiplies the impact of backbiting, enabling words that would normally remain within a limited circle to reach millions.
Conscience is regarded as an inner mechanism inherent in human nature that regulates behavior. In Islamic ethics, actions are evaluated not only by their visible outcomes but also by intentions and a sense of responsibility. The Qur’anic concept of nafs al-lawwāmah (the self-reproaching soul) refers to an individual’s internal self-accountability:
“And I swear by the self-reproaching soul.” (Al-Qiyamah, 75/2)
Exegetes interpret this verse as emphasizing that individuals should possess an inner sense of accountability regarding their actions. Violations committed under the cloak of anonymity in digital environments indicate the weakening of this internal control mechanism. Digital conscience can thus be regarded as a contemporary manifestation of nafs al-lawwāmah.
The hadith:“It is enough of a sin for a person to relate everything he hears.”
(Muslim, Muqaddimah, 5) sets a fundamental moral framework for information sharing, particularly in digital media.
Phenomena such as deepfakes, slander, privacy violations, and digital lynching, when viewed from a religious perspective, directly constitute violations of individual rights and collective moral responsibility. In this context, digital conscience directs individuals not only toward what is “legal” but also toward what is “lawful,” “just,” and respectful of others’ rights. In this sense, digital conscience represents one of the most vital and contemporary manifestations of spiritual responsibility in the technological age.
*Dr. Batuhan Mumcu, deputy culture and tourism minister
