The identified victim effect on refugees' media representations: The case of Aylan Kurdi

On September 2, 2015, 12 refugees, including 5 children, drowned and perished when the boat carrying Syrian refugees, attempting to cross from Turkey to Greece by sea, capsized. The tragic photo of three-year-old Aylan, whose lifeless body washed ashore in this disaster, quickly spread via social media and was seen by millions of people. This iconic photo turned the attention of states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals to the refugee crisis. When discourses emphasizing emotions such as empathy, anger, pity, compassion, grief, compassion, shame, and guilt spread, individuals made large donations to NGOs and aid organizations dealing with refugees, and political actors and governments made some adjustments in refugee policies in response to public pressure. This study focuses on the emotional impact of the visual representations of a single, identified victim in Aylan Kurdi's case and its significance in changing prevalent discourses towards refugees within the framework of the Identified Victim Effect (IVE). The study argues that the Aylan Kurdi case has led to a shift in the dehumanizing stereotypes and discourses about refugees, and this shift is brought on by the feelings that result from the identifiable victim effect. In this context, a textual and visual analysis of 500 news articles and columns regarding Syrian refugees that were published in the newspapers Hürriyet, Cumhuriyet, Sabah, Sözcü, and Yenisafak between August 27 and September 9, 2015, was conducted. Through the visual analysis of the iconic photograph and the analysis of widespread media discourses, this study shows how images, emotions, and discourses are inter-connected in the Aylan Kurdi case.