Media Representation and Foreign Aid Allocation: Analysing the Impact of Coverage on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (October 2023 - May 2024)
Author
Ferreira, Carolina Silva
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2024
Abstract
This thesis examines how news coverage may influence how governments distribute foreign aid, focusing on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict between October 2023 and May 2024. It uses two country cases—the United Kingdom and the United States—with three news outlets in each country that span different political leanings. The analysis draws on social constructivism (the idea that shared narratives and labels shape perceptions and actions) and symbolic interactionism (how meanings are built through everyday communication) to study how media narratives frame the conflict and how that framing can shape social understandings that affect aid decisions. Methodologically, the study combines triangulation (cross-checking evidence from multiple sources) and thematic analysis (grouping recurring patterns and ideas). Media coverage is examined through five themes—victims, violence, suffering, aid, and humanitarian concerns—to show how different aspects are portrayed from various perspectives. Aid allocation is presented chronologically to track policy changes over time. The findings indicate a correlation between certain media representations and aid decisions during the conflict. Coverage that frequently linked Palestinians with Hamas, which is represented as a terrorist organization, tended to dehumanize Palestinian suffering while generating support for Israel’s military actions, framed in terms of security and counterterrorism. In parallel, military assistance to Israel was often presented as counterterrorism, whereas aid for Palestinians faced more conditions and delays due to concerns it might inadvertently benefit Hamas. The thesis contributes to research on media influence in conflict by highlighting how media bias, selective reporting, and intergovernmental interests can interact.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan nyhedsdækning kan påvirke regeringernes fordeling af udenlandsk bistand, med fokus på den israelsk-palæstinensiske konflikt fra oktober 2023 til maj 2024. To lande fungerer som casestudier: Storbritannien og USA, hver repræsenteret ved tre nyhedsmedier med forskellige politiske ståsteder. Analysen bygger på socialkonstruktivisme (ideen om, at fælles fortællinger og kategorier former vores opfattelser og handlinger) og symbolsk interaktionisme (hvordan betydninger skabes i hverdagskommunikation). Afhandlingen undersøger, hvordan mediernes vinkling af konflikten kan skabe sociale forståelser, der påvirker beslutninger om bistand. Metodisk kombineres triangulering (krydstjek af flere kilder) og tematisk analyse (gruppering af gennemgående mønstre). Mediedækningen analyseres ud fra fem temaer—ofre, vold, lidelse, bistand og humanitære forhold—for at belyse, hvordan disse aspekter fremstilles fra forskellige perspektiver. Derudover beskrives bistandsallokeringen kronologisk for at afdække ændringer i regeringernes politik i perioden. Resultaterne peger på en sammenhæng mellem bestemte medieforestillinger og bistandsbeslutninger under konflikt. Dækning, der ofte kobler palæstinensere med Hamas, som fremstilles som en terrororganisation, tenderer til at afhumanisere palæstinensisk lidelse og samtidig skabe opbakning til israelske militære handlinger begrundet i sikkerhed og terrorbekæmpelse. Parallelt blev militær støtte til Israel ofte indrammet som et modterror-tiltag, mens bistand til palæstinensere blev underlagt flere betingelser og tilbageholdelser af frygt for, at midler indirekte kunne komme Hamas til gode. Afhandlingen bidrager til forskningen i mediers indflydelse i konfliktområder ved at kaste lys over, hvordan mediebias, selektiv rapportering og mellemstatslige interesser kan spille sammen.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]