The global media's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the context of hate speech

This study aims to analyse how news reports on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are represented in the global media in the context of hate speech. The study examines how language functions in the social context in news texts, how it reflects and reproduces social inequalities, power relations and ideologies, using van Dijk's Critical Discourse Analysis method. The study randomly selected news reports on the PalestinianIsraeli conflict published on the websites of Al Jazeera, TRT World, BBC News, and CNN International between 7 October 2023 and 7 November 2023, without adhering to a specific topic order. The findings show that word choices, thematic structures, and polarisation strategies present one side as a threat while legitimising the other side's violence, thereby reinforcing ideological biases and contributing to hate speech. It has been observed that the global media uses linguistic preferences such as othering, exclusion, and generalisation when defining the position of certain groups in society. Therefore, it can be concluded that the global media is an important tool for reproducing discriminatory discourse, shaping public opinion, and escalating conflict news through language. This linguistic usage of the global media may indirectly play a role in the emergence of hate speech.