Satellite sectarianisation or plain old partisanship?: Inciting violence in the Arab mainstream media

Abstract

This report assesses widespread claims that pan-Arab satellite news channels are responsible for inciting sectarian violence during the Arab uprisings. Based on an empirical study of how the most popular channels (Al-Jazeera Arabic and Al-Arabiya) and a competitive newcomer (Al-Mayadeen) have framed seminal events involving violence between sects in Syria and Iraq, the report finds that while often geo-politically charged, some of these claims are valid. While abusive language and direct promotion of violence are rare in a mainstream context, incitement to sectarian violence has been invoked primarily through linguistic and thematic tropes that forge legitimacy claims and narratives of victimhood. The paper draws on these findings to make recommendations for UK policymaker engagement with the Arab media This work is part of the Conflict Research Programme managed by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and funded by the UK Department for International Development