Refugee crisis representation on German online press: the case of Aylan Kurdi

Abstract

Abstract. This paper is focused in examining the digital news representation of Syrian refugee crisis and the conformation of the reader's opinions in Germany. Data collection will be addressed on reviewing German online news and the reader's comments related with one remarkable event during the actual migration crisis in Europe: The note about the child Aylan or Alan Kurdi, that drowned in the coast of Turkey in September 02 of 2015. The main aim of this paper is to understand the role of media crisis representation on the opinions of German people. How does media shape public reactions in pro and against helping refugees? And what kind of actions could the European authorities undertake to protect the human rights of refugees and to diminish hate discourse online.Keywords: hate discourse, Social Media, European migration crisis, digital journalism, cyber-ethics. Resumo. Este artigo examina a representação presente em notícias digitais sobre a crise dos refugiados sírios e a configuração das opiniões do leitor na Alemanha. A coleta de dados será abordada a partir da revisão de notícias on-line na Alemanha e de comentários do leitor relacionados com um acontecimento notável durante a atual crise de migração na

Chronotopic representations as an effect of individuation: The case of the European migrant crisis

“…This article has attempted to demonstrate that memes and meme-related discourses testify against binary oppositions in approaching the strands and sentiments about the migrant crisis (e.g. Thelwall 2015; Plascencia 2017; Nerghes & Lee 2018; Pilipets & Winter 2018). In their capacity to trigger transindividual networked individuation, memes emerge as a possible key to understanding the potential of contemporary semiotic production against the backdrop of prevalent populist discourses centered around nationalist hate, anti-Islamic propaganda, and fear mongering.…”

“…Countless images of mayhem and dismay on both land and sea, iconized by the photo of a three-year-old Syrian boy Alan (Aylan) Kurdi found lying dead on the Turkish beach, dominated headlines around the world and prompted international responses, while also opening a division in the public imaginary over how to deal with the crisis (Pilipets & Winter 2018). The images, or their parts, have frequently been utilized as semiotic resources for the multimodal cultural artifacts generally known as internet memes—vehicles for recontextualization and subsequent circulation—in two general kinds of discourses on social media: one aimed at gaining support and relief for refugees, the other to denounce welcoming policies, increase border control, and facilitate deportation processes (Thelwall 2015; Plascencia 2017).…”