Double Standards in Social Media Framing of Refugee Crises: A Comparative Analysis of Ukrainian and Arab Refugees

Subject Areas : Journal of Studies in Learning and Teaching English

Khaled Wassaf Abed Al Yakoobi ¹ , Bahram Hadian ² , Raed Dakhil Kareem Al-Khuzaie ³ , Fatemeh Karimi ⁴

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Received: 2025-03-03 Accepted : 2025-04-04 Published : 2025-06-28

Keywords: Comparative Study, Critical Discourse Analysis, Double Standards, Framing, Refugee Crisis, Social Media,

Abstract :

This study investigates the presence of double standards in the social media framing of refugee crises, specifically comparing narratives surrounding Ukrainian and Arab refugees. Employing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) guided by van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach and the concept of the "Ideological Square," the research examined how these groups are represented across platforms like Twitter (X) and Reddit. The study compared social media discourse related to the influx of Ukrainian refugees post-February 2022 with discourse surrounding the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis to uncover differing narratives. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative techniques, the research analyzed a corpus of social media posts to understand the underlying ideologies and power dynamics shaping these narratives. It identified specific rhetorical strategies, including lexical choices, metaphors, and narrative structures, that contribute to positive self-representation of Ukrainian refugees and negative other-representation of Arab refugees, emphasizing the bias and strategic application of language. The findings reveal a consistent pattern: Ukrainian refugees are often framed as innocent victims deserving of empathy and integration, whereas Arab refugees are frequently depicted as threats or burdens due to a lack of shared values or as products of internal conflicts. This paper emphasizes the role of societal ideologies, such as Islamophobia, nationalism, and Western-centric biases, in shaping the representation of each group, emphasizing the influence of power dynamics on discourse.

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