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Знак: проблемное поле медиаобразования. 2024. № 3 (53). С. 129-136 elSSN 2949-3641; ISSN 2070-0695 (print). Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovanija. 2024;3(53): 129-136. elSSN 2949-3641; ISSN 2070-0695 (print).
Научная статья УДК 070
DOI 10.47475/2070-0695-2024-53-3-129-136
РОЛЬ МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫХ СМИ В ФОРМИРОВАНИИ ТЕНДЕНЦИЙ ОБЩЕСТВЕННОГО МНЕНИЯ ВО ВРЕМЯ ВООРУЖЕННЫХ КОНФЛИКТОВ
Валид Набиль Саяд1, Фади Алаззех С. А.2
1,2 Российский университет дружбы народов имени Патриса Лумумбы, Российская Федерация, Москва
1 [email protected], https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2347-1477
Аннотация. Исследование посвящено изучению роли средств массовой информации в формировании общественного мнения во время вооруженных конфликтов. Цель данного исследования - определить и описать параметры взаимоотношений между СМИ и общественным мнением в аспекте медийного отображения вооруженных конфликтов. Проблема исследования заключается в трудностях формирования объективной информационной картины происходящего в период вооруженных конфликтов, учитывая растущее влияние дезинформации, пропаганды и воздействия цензуры на СМИ. В статье предпринимается попытка выявить и охарактеризовать медиастратегии, направленные на установление контроля над общественным мнением, а также формирование модели восприятия обществом происходящего и отношения аудитории средств массовой информации к сторонам конфликта. В результате проведенного анализа можно сделать ряд выводов, наиболее значимыми из которых представляются следующие: западные средства массовой информации сыграли негативную роль, введя свою целевую аудиторию в заблуждение, искажая образ России и палестинцев в глазах международной общественности. CNN и BBC использовали предвзятые и субъективные новостные сюжеты при освещении вооруженных конфликтов, чтобы склонить общественное мнение в пользу Израиля и Украины. Телеканал Russia Today сыграл заметную роль в формировании объективного общественного мнения о направлении конфликта в Газе и военной операции на Украине.
Ключевые слова: освещение новостей, общественное мнение, вооруженные конфликты, конфликт в Газе, специальная военная операция на Украине, международные СМИ, RT, CNN
Для цитирования: Саяд В. Н., Фади Алаззех С. А. Роль международных СМИ в формировании тенденций общественного мнения во время вооруженных конфликтов // Знак: проблемное поле медиаобразования. 2024. № 3 (53). С. 129-136. doi: 10.47475/2070-0695-2024-53-3-129-136
Original article
THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA IN SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION TRENDS DURING ARMED CONFLICTS Waleed N. Sayad1, Fadi Alazzeh C. A.2
1 2 Peoples Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba, Moscow, Russian Federation
1 [email protected], https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2347-1477
Abstract. The research deals with the characteristics of the formation of public opinion during armed conflicts. It aims to study and analyze the role played by the media in the formation of public opinion during conflicts. The purpose of this research is to provide a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between the media and public opinion in the context of issues of armed conflict. The research problem is the challenges facing the formation of an objective and conscious public opinion during armed conflicts, given the growing influence of disinformation, propaganda, and censorship on the media. The research seeks to understand the main characteristics of the formation of public opinion during armed conflicts, the media strategies used to control public opinion during armed conflicts, and how the media affects public perceptions and attitudes towards the parties to the conflict.
The research reached several main conclusions, most notably: the Western media played a negative role in misleading the public, by distorting the image of Russia and the Palestinians in front of international public opinion. CNN and the BBC have employed biased and subjective news frames while covering armed conflicts to win public opinion trends in favor of Israel and Ukraine. The Russia Today channel played a prominent role in forming an objective public opinion on the direction of the conflict in Gaza and the military operation in Ukraine.
Key words: news coverage, public opinion, armed conflicts, the conflict in Gaza, the special military operation in Ukraine, international media, RT, CNN
For citation: Sayad W. N., Fadi Alazzeh C. A. (2024). The role of international media in shaping public opinion trends during armed conflicts. Znak: problemnoepole mediaobrazovanija. 3(53): 129-136. (In Russ). doi: 10.47475/2070-0695-2024-53-3-129-136
Methods and tools
This research was based on the analytical descriptive approach, which describes the media material, and critically analyzes how media content is presented and framed to shape public opinion during armed conflicts, by examining the content of a sample of news coverage in Russia Today, CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera channels about the armed conflict in Gaza 2023 and the special military operation in Ukraine 2022. The research sample included (217) News published in the mentioned international channels from 2022-2024. The research sample was chosen because it consists of a diverse representation of several media of different orientations (Russian, Western, Arab) to ensure a variety of points of view, emphasis was placed on the most prominent contemporary armed conflicts (the conflict in Gaza, the special military operation in Ukraine), to ensure the novelty and relevance of information. The period (2022-2024) was chosen to cover different stages of these conflicts, which allows us to understand the developments of the events of these conflicts. The research includes a critical analysis of the role of international media in shaping public opinion, by analyzing the frameworks and narratives used in news coverage and understanding the methods used to influence public opinion in the mentioned channels.
Introduction
The development of information and communication technology in the modern era has created favorable conditions for disseminating the opinions of various groups of society, and their wide expression within the open media space. The process of forming public opinion has become complicated; due to the manipulation of the volume and type of information received by the public, as well as the use of propaganda activities and psychological processes in influencing the process of forming public opinion to achieve specific goals. public opinion plays an important role in the nature of the functioning of contemporary society. The importance of research lies in understanding the extent to which media influences the public's perceptions, convictions, and opinions about armed conflicts. Several hypotheses have been formulated for the research, the most important of which are: the media plays a decisive role in shaping the political and social attitudes of the public during armed conflicts, and there is a strong correlation between media coverage of armed conflicts and the formation of public opinion.
The most important studies that have dealt with the subject of research are: study E. Gilboa, M. G. Jumbert (Gilboa, Jumbert 2016) titled «Moving media and conflict studies beyond the CNN effect. Review of International Studies», and study O. Marukhovskyi (Marukhovskyi 2024) titled «The Role of Online Media in Shaping Public Opinion about the Prospects for Peace and Military Conflict», and study M. Miroslav, P. Nenad (Miroslav, Nenad 2022) titled «Media as an instrument of strategic communication in armed conflicts», and study Z. Musharaf, S. Najma (Musharaf, Najma 2021) titled «Media and armed conflicts: an overview», and study O. Tenenboim (Tenenboim 2017) titled «Reporting war in 140 characters: How journalists used Twitter during the 2014 GazaIsrael conflict».
The concept of public opinion during armed conflicts
The term public opinion was first used in the XVIII century by the minister of Finance under Louis XVI Jacques Necker during the French Revolution, but the rooting of this term as a scientific concept dates back to modern times when the means of expressing opinion are such as newspapers, radio, television, etc. The American researcher Davis defined public opinion as «the inclination of people towards a particular issue when, through discussion, a group agrees on a unified opinion to achieve common goals». Davis believes that the opinions, features and ideas have taken shape following the customs and traditions of a group of people to achieve common goals. Public opinion plays an increasingly important role in the process of influencing the entire political, economic, and social processes. He not only normatively attracts the audience, but is also able to mobilize them for joint work (Davis 2022). Governments use the media to shape and guide public opinion, through media campaigns to mobilize public opinion to support its decisions in times of war and crisis, disseminate its vision, and justify its actions to the public, in turn, Public opinion can determine the extent of popular support for or opposition to opposition to a war decision. Public opinion performs the function of psychological and moral influence in society and the armed forces by providing moral support to the army and has a significant impact on people's willingness to withstand the challenges and stresses resulting from the conflict and its consequences (Ivanova 2018). Public opinion in countries can influence the formation of international alliances and the positions of states in international conflicts. For example, on 2/3/2022. The Iraqi government voted «abstained» at the UN General Assembly meeting on an American and Western draft resolution condemning the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, after popular demonstrations in Baghdad, in which demonstrators carried Russian flags and portraits of President Putin, which put popular pressure on the Iraqi government
(Jabbar, A. K. (2022). This is Iraq's position on the Russian war on Ukraine. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.
net/politics/2022/3/6/lJc^-V-Jt^-l^cb>?l-^-^u').
Features of the formation of public opinion during armed conflicts
The features of the formation of public opinion during armed conflicts can be summarized in the following points (Gad 2020):
1. The importance of the media's influence in shaping public opinion is increasing according to the point of view of each of the parties to the conflict, and the warring countries in the conflict resort to the formation of media teams to manage media content strategically according to the goals of the state. Public opinion is increasingly interested in political and military affairs and closely following events through the media.
2. The warring parties resort to the use of propaganda and persuasion techniques such as recruiting influential figures and symbols in society to support the cause, justify their positions, and gain public support for it internally and externally. A general feeling of hostility and hatred is spreading against the hostile party. Ukrainian President Zelensky took advantage of his frequent appearance in the Western media to gain the sympathy of international public opinion with Ukraine, in every media interview he conducts, he is keen to employ emotional language charged with sadness to show the suffering of Ukraine, to obtain moral support from the public, and financial and military support from the governments of Western countries, which exploit him to implement (El-Minshawy M. How did Zelensky win the media battle in the United States // Aljazeera. 15.04.2022. URL: https://www.aljazeera.net/politics/2022/4/15/
3. The influence of false news, fabricated information, and disinformation increases during armed conflict, and rumors spread to discredit the other party. Public opinion becomes more susceptible to believing false news and propaganda during conflicts and crises. The most striking example of spreading false news and misleading public opinion was when CNN published about the death of Russian Admiral Victor Sokolov in a Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of the Russian naval fleet in Sevastopol «Russian admiral claimed to have been killed in Ukrainian attack appears in video interview», just two days later, Admiral Sokolov appeared at a meeting with the Russian leadership in Moscow (Krebs, K., Chernova, A., Sebastian C. Russian admiral claimed to have been killed in Ukrainian attack appears in video interview // CNN. 27.09.2023. URL: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/27/ europe/viktor-sokolov-russia-ukraine-new-video-intl/index.html). CNN continued to distort the facts and mislead public opinion against Russia during most of its news bulletins.
4. The parties to the conflict are trying to isolate their citizens from the sources of counter-information from the opponent, and impose severe censorship on the internal media, in addition to blocking electronic platforms and social networking sites to limit the spread of hostile information, the phenomenon of «media rupture» occurs between the parties to the conflict with the lack of information flow, and some freedoms and rights may be violated for national necessity and security. The most prominent example of this is the news published by RT channel under the title «Israel to ban Al Jazeera» about Israel's decision to suspend the work and broadcast of the Qatari channel Al Jazeera in Israel, declaring it to be a hostile media outlet (Israel to ban Al Jazeera - Netanyahu // Russia Today. 02.04.2024. URL: https://swentr.site/news/595262-israel-to-ban-al-jazeera/). This decision reflects the political tension between Israel and some Arab countries, especially Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera. It raises questions about the violation of freedom of expression and respect for another opinion, according to the principles of media practice. It can be considered a serious indicator of the narrowing of media freedoms in Israel.
5. The dilemma of media coverage of these conflicts appears in accordance with the standards and principles of the media, and the form and content of coverage is affected by the media policy of the media, and this impact is reflected negatively on the values of objectivity, credibility and accuracy in disseminating information to the public, as well as the difficulty of reconciling freedom of expression and security censorship during armed conflicts. Eight journalists working for BBC launched an open letter to international public opinion, accusing their organization of failing to provide neutral and balanced news coverage of the conflict in Gaza, saying that the BBC frames events according to the principle of humanizing the Israeli victims and dehumanizing the Palestinians, and dropped the historical context of the conflict from its media coverage," and that the channel applies a biased and unethical media policy, to mislead public opinion and distort the reality of the ongoing Israeli violations in Gaza (Princewilliam 2024).
6. Public opinion is becoming more divided and extreme, due to intensive propaganda activities. The phenomenon of a «supportive and hostile public» supporting or opposing the position of one of the parties to the conflict is spreading. An example of this is the split of international public opinion on the armed conflict in Gaza. Public opinion in the eastern camp, such as Russia, China, Iran, Arab countries and most Islamic countries, rejects Israeli military action in Gaza. In contrast, Western public opinion, such as the United States and Western countries, supports Israel's position, while public opinion positions in various other countries of the world seem neutral or uninterested (Fraser 2022).
7. National and patriotic feelings are increasing, feelings of loyalty and devotion to the homeland and readiness to sacrifice for it are escalating during armed conflicts, and political, military and economic mobilization positions are emerging to meet challenges, and here the role of national media is effectively highlighted to achieve this end, and public opinion tends to support the political and military leadership in support of the state's efforts in confronting the enemy. The most striking experimental example of this is the statement of Russian President Putin quoted by the Russia Today channel under the title «Russia is absolutely invincible», in which Putin spoke about the unity of the Russian people, cohesion, and support for the Russian army against Neo-Nazis in Ukraine. This speech in front of the masses and the media was a factor of reassurance and a sense of pride and victory, the Russian leadership contributed to guiding and educating public opinion by clarifying the facts to the public about the causes and objectives of the special military operation in Ukraine (Russia is 'absolutely invincible' - Putin // Russia Today. 01.09.2023. URL: https://www.rt.com/russia/582231-russia-invincible-putin-says/).
It should be noted that information warfare and propaganda from third parties it becomes difficult to establish the truth of the information provided. Therefore, to form an objective opinion, it is necessary to critically process information from various sources and conduct your own analysis of events. The formation of public opinion during armed conflicts with the help of the media has its own characteristics, which can significantly affect the perception and understanding of events among the public, the most prominent of which are (Pavlova 2020):
1. Censorship and restriction of information: the authorities or the government managing the conflict may exercise control over the media and restrict access to certain events or ways of their presentation. This can lead to distortion or concealment of some aspects of the conflict and create a one-sided point of view.
2. During a conflict, the media can be used to spread propaganda and manipulate opinion. State and nonstate structures can use the media to create a certain picture of events, emphasize their rightness and virtue, as well as demonize the other side.
3. Information warfare: armed conflicts are often accompanied by information wars, in which different parties carefully select, prepare and disseminate news and information to influence the opinion of the public and international communities. For example, the BBC published a story under the headline «Hamas faces growing public dissent as Gaza war erodes support» in which it claimed that a Palestinian citizen from Gaza criticized Hamas and called it (dirty, scum) in a video that the channel apologized for publishing in response to the person's desire. The channel is trying to create perceptions and convictions among the public opinion that the people in Gaza are rejecting Hamas, that Hamas controls Gaza by force, and that Israel is trying to rid the people in Gaza of Hamas (Hamas faces growing public dissent as Gaza war erodes support // BBC. 2024. URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0vewvp14zdo). The scale of misinformation in Western channels shows how to manipulate the formation of public opinion by creating false perceptions of the public away from the facts.
4. Limited access to independent information: during a conflict, access to independent and reliable sources of information may be limited. Journalists and correspondents may face danger, which limits their ability to cover certain episodes of armed conflict.
5. media can have a psychological impact on the public during a conflict. Mass communication channels can lead to formation of fear, aggression or hatred, affect the emotional state of people and their behavior.
Thus, armed conflicts are characterized by special conditions for the formation of public opinion through media. Government strategy and propaganda control can have a significant impact on how information is disseminated and interpreted by the public. Therefore, it is important to develop critical thinking, analyze information sources, search for a variety of opinions and points of view to get the most objective and complete picture of what is happening during armed conflicts.
Strategies for controlling public opinion during armed conflicts
There are several media strategies in controlling public opinion during armed conflicts, the most important of which are (Volkov 2019):
1. Media orientation: consists in focusing on certain issues in a biased way in favor of a particular party. This is done by selecting the media content and presenting it in such a way as to achieve certain goals. For example, CNN published a video entitled (Hear from a woman whose husband is still held by Hamas), in which the wife of one of the Israeli abductees by Hamas is shown crying over the fate of her husband with a sad soundtrack with the channel's announcer moving and sharing her grief (Hear challenges divers face while recovering missing people after yacht sinks // CNN. 2024. URL: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/21/world/video/sunken-bayesian-superyacht-missing-bodies-recovery-nadeau-digvid), CNN focuses on the issue of Israeli prisoners significantly in its coverage of the conflict in Gaza, to win the support of international public opinion in favor of Israel, that telling humanitarian stories in this way contributes significantly to creating public perceptions and convictions in favor of Israel, while at the same time, CNN ignores the stories of thousands of dead, wounded, and displaced Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
2. Psychological projection consists in provoking anxiety, fear and sowing terror among the public by taking and amplifying negative news. This is intended to influence the public's decisions in the direction of an issue. In this regard, the spotlight was highlighted by the pro-Hamas Qatari channel Al Jazeera, which published a video of the Quran's burning during the Israeli bombing of a mosque in Gaza. The publication of news was repeated 6 times in one day to stir up feelings of public opinion among Muslims against Israel, exploiting religious and cultural factors, that the amplification and repetition of events contributed to focusing public attention towards these events (Video of Israeli forces burning the Quran and bombing Gaza mosque // Aljazeera. 25.08.2024. URL: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/8/25/video-of-israeli-forces-burning-the-quran-and-bombing-gaza-mosque). Therefore, the public is lured by the media through attention and focus on a particular event and neglect other events, to influence public trends according to the goals of the communicator.
3. Manipulation of information: consists in changing or distorting the information provided to the public to achieve specific goals, this is done by deleting, changing or amplifying important information.
4. Media control consists of governments, political parties, and social organizations controlling and directing the media directly or indirectly. This aims to restrict freedom of opinion and expression and to direct public opinion following certain political, economic, or social agendas. Western countries have used their influence on Western media and social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and others, to mislead international public opinion, by distorting the image of Russia and showing sympathy for Ukraine. These countries have deliberately imposed a ban on official Russian media on these social platforms (EU bans major Russian language media outlets // Russia Today. 17.05.2024. URL: https://www.rt.com/news/597794-eu-bans-russian-news/).
The relationship between media and public opinion during armed conflicts
The relationship between public opinion and the media is based on the principle of influence and mutual influence. The media, in various forms and types, contribute to forming public opinion in conjunction with other influential factors (customs, traditions, values, religion. The influence of public opinion is manifested by controlling the determination of the form and content of the media message presented by the media directly or indirectly, and public opinion can also control the determination of the media policy of media institutions (Ahmed 2021).
One of the main functions of the media is to contribute to the formation of intellectual convictions and points of view of individuals and groups, by disseminating ideas, opinions, and attitudes that introduce them into the consciousness of the masses and strengthen them. The fulfillment of this function requires media performance based on credibility and accuracy in disseminating information in an objective context that allows the exchange of comments and criticism. The role of the media in shaping public opinion can be both positive and negative (Al-Zein 2022).
Studies show that the media have a significant influence in shaping public opinion attitudes towards the parties to the conflict. Biased or negative media coverage of one party can increase hatred and incitement against it and strengthen support for the other party. Therefore, the media must adhere to objectivity, impartiality, and presentation of multiple and different points of view during their coverage of armed conflicts, to form a balanced public opinion aware of the realities of the conflict away from propaganda and media bias. The media can deliberately publish information that incites discrimination, hatred, and incitement inside or outside the country or creates a favorable climate for internal and external conflicts, but sometimes the media publish false or exaggerated information during conflicts, which can fuel and aggravate the conflict. Therefore, the reliability of the information should be checked before its publication (Yesilada, Efegil 2022).
The media discourse in Western media is based on framing the events of armed conflicts with biased and subjective frameworks, using propaganda activities and disinformation to influence public opinion trends and achieve specific goals. This is evident during the Western media coverage of the armed conflict in Gaza, as well as the special military operation in Ukraine. It is no secret that the Western media pursues media policies that fully correspond to the US-Western ideology that supports Israel and Ukraine.
Therefore, the Western media highlights and highlights specific aspects in news coverage, neglecting other elements, to focus the attention of public opinion on these aspects. For example, the most prominent aspects that the Western media focus on during the coverage of the special military operation in Ukraine are the humanitarian framework related to the issue of Ukrainian refugees, and poor economic conditions in Ukrainian cities. On the other hand, the media ignore the mention of racist policies and the use of violence against Russian citizens in Donetsk and Donbas, the Western media do not mention Russia's right to defend its national security. We can say that the Western media is being hijacked by major countries and their policies towards various events. Therefore, Western media organizations frame the events of conflicts in the service of the political interests of Western countries (Mamdouh 2022).
The same applies when talking about the conflict in Gaza. The suffering of the Israeli victims is highlighted, magnified, humanized and genocide carried out by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza, which claimed more than 40 thousand victims, most of them women and children. This framing and biased narratives in the Western
media reflect the extent of manipulation and misinformation to which public opinion is exposed. We believe that public opinion is exposed to the largest media deception and the absence of collective consciousness in modern history, through the creation of the Western media distorted picture of the facts of the current armed conflicts (Shahzad, Qazi 2023).
Table 1
Shows the role and strategy of the Russian, Western and Arab media in shaping public opinion on the conflict in Gaza and the special military operation in Ukraine
The role and strategy of the Russian media (Russia Today channel) in shaping public opinion about the conflict in Gaza and the special military operation in Ukraine
Russia Today channel has played a prominent role in covering the events of the conflict in Gaza, by conveying news and information to the public objectively and in a balanced manner. The channel focused on the humanitarian framework, highlighting civilian victims' suffering on both sides. This coverage falls within the framework of the social responsibility of the media in covering armed conflicts. The channel has adopted a media strategy that is consistent with the Russian state's point of view, which calls for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The channel focused on accurately and objectively conveying the news of the special military operation in Ukraine, contributing to disseminating news and information to the public, to form an objective public opinion based on a comprehensive understanding of the causes of the conflict and its consequences. She played a huge role in refuting Western propaganda and directing the public towards the facts.
The role and strategy of the Western media (CNN, BBC) in shaping public opinion on the conflict in Gaza and the special military operation in Ukraine
There is a clear similarity in the role and approach of CNN and the BBC in covering the events of the conflict in Gaza, as they represent the same Western ideology. Both channels focused on spreading humanitarian stories of the suffering of Israeli victims, as well as describing Israeli military actions in Gaza as self-defense. On the other hand, both channels tend to distort the image of Hamas in front of public opinion. Both channels are considered one of the tools of Western soft power that has been used to discredit Russia in front of Western and international public opinion.
Both channels spread disinformation about the events of the special military operation in Ukraine. The trends of news coverage in the two channels about the military operation were characterized by a bias towards Ukraine, presenting Ukrainian and Western views, and neglecting Russian views.
The role and strategy of the Arab media (Al Jazeera) in shaping public opinion on the conflict in Gaza and the special military operation in Ukraine
Al Jazeera has played a clear role in conveying Arab and Palestinian views on the conflict in Gaza. It contributed to strengthening the trends of Arab and Islamic public opinion sympathetic and supportive of the Palestinians. It adopted a media approach and strategy based on criminalizing Israeli actions and supporting Hamas and the Palestinians.
The role of the channel in its coverage of the special military operation in Ukraine was limited to conveying the events of the conflict in a balanced and objective manner. Different points of view of the parties to the conflict were conveyed. There was a clear sympathy for Russia's right to defend its national security. The channel did not use propaganda activities or distorted news frameworks in favor of the parties to the conflict.
Conclusion
The process of forming public opinion is characterized by complexity during armed conflicts, due to the manipulation of the volume and type of information received by the public, the influence of false news and disinformation on the public is increasing. Coverage of the conflict in Gaza and the special military operation in Ukraine revealed a set of such important indicators as the absence of objectivity and credibility in the Western media. CNN media coverage approach to the conflict in Gaza and Ukraine was based on a unified media policy consistent with the political strategy of the United States and its allies Israel and Ukraine. It presents negative news frameworks about Hamas and Russia, highlighting certain aspects such as humanitarian stories, and neglecting other aspects such as the historical context of the conflicts and the real causes of their outbreak. The BBC news coverage focused on highlighting the suffering of Israelis and Ukrainians, as it humanizes one side and dehumanizes the other. This selectivity is a frequent pattern in the coverage of the events of the special military operation in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza as well. The danger of such framing lies in the fact that it defines the public opinion that Israel and Ukraine are the victims and deserve sympathy, while at the same time promoting hate speech against the Palestinians and Russia.
Russia today has adopted a balanced and realistic approach to covering the conflict in Gaza. The channel showed sympathetic attitudes to the civilian victims in Gaza. The channel adopted the representation of the Russian media vision of the conflict in Gaza and accurately conveyed the events with the naming of things. The channel emphasizes covering the humanitarian stories of civilian victims on both sides to support its credibility, by the framework of social responsibility to provide the public with facts, to form objective trends of public opinion towards the events in Gaza and Ukraine. The channel played a prominent role in conveying a real and clear picture to the local and international public about the events of the special military operation in Ukraine and succeeded in attracting the public who are looking for accurate and objective information.
The Qatari channel Al Jazeera played an important role in transmitting the events of the conflict in Gaza from the battlefield in Gaza, and it was the most prominent media arm for the Palestinians to convey their suffering to the audience. The channel's role was distinguished in adopting the Arab and Palestinian points of view towards the events of the conflict. It is no secret that the channel was biased in favor of the Palestinians against Israeli violations in Gaza, forcing the Israeli government to ban it from operating in Israel, and classifying it as an anti-Israel media outlet. Al Jazeera contributed to shaping the trends of Arab and Islamic public opinion and the international public sympathetic to the Palestinians.
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Информация об авторах Валид Н. Саяд - аспирант кафедры массовых коммуникаций Фади Алаззех С. А. - аспирант кафедры массовых коммуникаций
Information about the authors Waleed N. Sayad - PHD student of the Department of Mass Communications Fadi A. C. A. - PHD student of the Department of Mass Communications
Авторы заявляют об отсутствии конфликта интересов. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Статья поступила в редакцию 12.08.2024; одобрена после рецензирования 06.10.2024; принята к публикации 21.10.2024.
The article was submitted 12.08.2024; approved after reviewing 06.10.2024; accepted for publication 21.10.2024.
