Decoding anti-muslim discourse
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Date
2024
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University of Oum El Bouaghi
Abstract
This study looks into how American news outlets talked about Muslims during the 2023-2024 Gaza crisis. We used a big collection of news articles to see what patterns emerged and how these stories might contribute to harmful stereotypes. Our research shows that news coverage often focused on the conflict itself, the suffering of civilians, and the role of political forces like Hamas and Israel.
But what's really interesting is how these themes were knitted together. We found that conservative news sources often painted a picture of Hamas as a dangerous, monolithic threat, which, in turn, seemed to justify Israel's actions. On the other hand, progressive news sources tended to focus on the humanitarian crisis, showing the catastrophic impact of the conflict on Palestinian civilians and questioning the morality of Israeli tactics.
To understand these patterns, we used a tool called critical discourse analysis (CDA) to dig deeper into the language itself. We discovered that things like word choice and sentence structure really matter. For instance, words like "bombardment," "destruction," and "suffering" were frequently used when talking about Gaza, while "terrorist," "militant," and "threat" were often used to describe Hamas.
This research shows that we need to be super critical of how the media frames conflict, especially when it comes to topics like Islamophobia. It's crucial for readers to understand that the way stories are told can shape our perceptions and reinforce existing biases. Our research is part of a bigger conversation about how to fight prejudice and build a more inclusive world.
We hope this study sparks further research into how media portrays conflict, not just in words, but also in images and videos. It's important to understand how all these forms of media affect our understanding of the world and our ability to build a more peaceful and just future.