The Ideological Representation of Iraqi Human Rights Violations in American Online Newspaper Discourse

Abstract

Language used in newspapers can influence the readers' view on the issues published in them. Language is no longer a mere means of communicating information; but it also generates and shapes the social interaction with such issues. This could be achieved through the effective representation of these issues using linguistic expressions. Therefore, this study investigates the ideological representation of human rights violations in newspaper discourse. The data of this study is collected from news articles published in American online newspapers, namely, the Washington Post and New York Times, on the issue of the human rights violations, particularly the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Iraq. Accordingly, Van Dijk’s (1998) theory of ideology is also employed to examine group ideology and portrayal of "Self" and "Others" in these newspapers. It is found that in both newspapers, group ideology was manifested through presenting positive in-group actions, such as peaceful demonstrations, supporting protesters, resisting and warning against out-group violent procedures. Moreover, the newspapers focused on the victims of protesters (as in-group), while generalizing the negative reactions of government, political parties, and security forces (as out-group) toward protests and protesters.