Value Triggers in the Media Image of Radical Religious Organizations

Abstract

The authors examine the process of a value-oriented context implementation by Western media in the coverage of the radical group’s activities. A specifi c form of content analysis as a method was used, expressed in a sentiment analysis of specifi cally selected material based on news publications. The scientifi c novelty of the study is the application of a text tone analyzing method in the little-studied subject of the radical organizations’ media image. In addition, in the context of the Taliban terrorist group formation as a political system in Afghanistan in 2021, it is relevant to research the banned organization media image from the point of political communication view. As a theoretical basis, an actor-oriented approach was used through the prism of the society mediatization theory as well as the theory of value identities. During the study, value-oriented triggers were analyzed in the publications of CNN, Daily News, The New York Times. The choice of these media is due to a reassessment of the foreign policy priorities of the United States of America, being the main antagonist of the banned Taliban organization. Thus, the study is devoted to the main topical issues: is the topic of the Taliban relevant in the US mass media today and what is the media image of the Taliban in the US mass media after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. As a result of the analysis, the authors conclude that despite the change in the US foreign policy strategy and the transformation of its priorities, the topic of the Taliban is not only still relevant in the US mass media but also has a structured system for constructing a negative media image of the Taliban movement, where the Western media highlights the destructive actions and the economic and social consequences incurred as a result of the policies pursued by the Taliban. In further research, the banned radical Taliban group as a media phenomenon should be studied more carefully, as well as the social consequences of the formation of one or another media obsession in the mass media within the framework of this issue. In the future, additional studies of foreign and domestic media are needed to determine the trends in the development of media images of banned radical organizations