Born on 18 August 1963 in Çankırı in Central Turkey, Karaca completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Istanbul.
He worked as the Aegean Region Representative of Zaman Newspaper in Izmir.
From 1999 to 2016 he worked as the General Coordinator of the Samanyolu television channel (STV).
An episode of a soap opera on Samanyolu TV also made allegations against the Tahşiveciler.
[2][3][4] On 8 June 2018, the court sentenced Hidayet Karaca to aggravated life imprisonment for "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" via the failed coup of 15 July 2016.