An image of refugees through the social media lens: A narrative framing analysis of the Humans of New York series ‘Syrian Americans’

Abstract

In this article we analyse the visual portrayal of Syrian refugees in the Facebook group ‘Humans of New York’ – a citizen journalism site run by a New York-based photographer. Specifically, we use narrative theory and its related method, narrative framing analysis, to examine the visual rhetoric of the European refugee crisis that emerges on this site, and the images that were most popular with the site’s viewers. Our findings indicate that while mainstream media images marginalize and dehumanize refugees by portraying them as pollutants and terrorists, alternate sites such as HONY do not function under traditional journalistic norms and routines, and provide alternate portrayals. The three narrative frames that emerge are as follows: refugees are skilled, normalized and are ideologically American. The overall narrative is a social master analogue that indicates that refugees are capable of assimilating into American life.

Empathy Cultivation through (Pro)Social Media: A Counter to Compassion Fatigue

“…HONY is an appropriate object of study about the ability to cultivate empathy and reduce compassion fatigue because, as Perreault and Paul (2018) concluded, the feed's creator selects frames that make his subjects seem similar to his presumed audience. The posts humanize the subjects and highlight the common aspects of their lives that viewers might relate to, rather than highlighting their suffering or pain.…”

“…The posts humanize the subjects and highlight the common aspects of their lives that viewers might relate to, rather than highlighting their suffering or pain. In Perreault and Paul's (2018) analysis of the HONY portrayal of Syrian refugees, they found three prevalent narrative frames: "the Syrian refugee as skilled, normalized and as ideologically American" (p. 92). Perreault and Paul (2018) explained the normalized frame as follows: "In the narrative frame of the normalized refugee, the emphasis is the refugee's 'normalcy' in that all tertiary elements of the photographs are pointedly normal: flowers, pets, families, western clothing" (p. 93) and contrasted that framing with media coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis that has emphasized limited, negative portrayals.…”

“…In Perreault and Paul's (2018) analysis of the HONY portrayal of Syrian refugees, they found three prevalent narrative frames: "the Syrian refugee as skilled, normalized and as ideologically American" (p. 92). Perreault and Paul (2018) explained the normalized frame as follows: "In the narrative frame of the normalized refugee, the emphasis is the refugee's 'normalcy' in that all tertiary elements of the photographs are pointedly normal: flowers, pets, families, western clothing" (p. 93) and contrasted that framing with media coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis that has emphasized limited, negative portrayals. They did note some commonalities between HONY and traditional media coverage of Syrian refugees in terms of the elements of compassion fatigue, namely sensational emphasis through the visual references, and American angles.…”

“…The "Humans of New York" (HONY) social media feed/photojournalism project offers a useful object of study because its creator, who initially sought to portray ordinary residents of New York City, has taken his camera around the world to share images and short captions of personal testimonials of people in places that are more frequently portrayed in news about conflict and suffering. HONY is notable because the snippets of conversation the feed's creator selects often emphasize frames or topics that make his subjects seem similar to his presumed audience (Perreault and Paul 2018). While the people portrayed in the feed sometimes discuss difficult or painful situations, they are often framed in terms of overcoming difficulty, rather than focusing on the negative aspects of the situation.…”

Social Justice and the Portrayal of Migrants in International Organization for Migration’s World Migration Reports

“…ICTs-focused studies include work on the representations of migrants on social media. For instance, Perreault and Paul (2018) analyze the visual portrayal of Syrian refugees in "Humans of New York," a Facebook group.…”