Boko Haram and the newspaper-narrative: framing, terrorism and media in Nigeria and beyond

The main aim of this thesis is to investigate how framing through prominent Nigerian newspapers has an effect on Boko Haram’s narrative. More specifically, it utilizes existing content and discourse analyses to discover in which ways the two Nigerian newspapers ‘the Punch’ and the ‘Daily Trust’ use framing techniques to shape particular narratives surrounding Boko Haram. In addition, the purpose of this thesis is to offer alternative perspectives on dominant components within the ‘newspaper-narrative’ to allow for a more nuanced and diverse consideration of Boko Haram. Lastly, the results are contextualized by situating them in the broader debate regarding the framing of terrorism. This thesis concludes that the negative consequences of terrorism-framing in relation to Boko Haram are similar to the ones exposed by the global debate. Although the range of these issues is broad, this study concluded two particular consequences to be dominant. Firstly, it limits and negatively...Show moreThe main aim of this thesis is to investigate how framing through prominent Nigerian newspapers has an effect on Boko Haram’s narrative. More specifically, it utilizes existing content and discourse analyses to discover in which ways the two Nigerian newspapers ‘the Punch’ and the ‘Daily Trust’ use framing techniques to shape particular narratives surrounding Boko Haram. In addition, the purpose of this thesis is to offer alternative perspectives on dominant components within the ‘newspaper-narrative’ to allow for a more nuanced and diverse consideration of Boko Haram. Lastly, the results are contextualized by situating them in the broader debate regarding the framing of terrorism. This thesis concludes that the negative consequences of terrorism-framing in relation to Boko Haram are similar to the ones exposed by the global debate. Although the range of these issues is broad, this study concluded two particular consequences to be dominant. Firstly, it limits and negatively influences counter-terrorism options by presenting Boko Haram as a force that can only be dealt with in a violent matter. Secondly, unnuanced and disproportionate representations of Islam in relation to Boko Haram and other Islamic terrorist organizations has led to a significant rise of negative Muslim prejudice.Show less

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Boko Haram and the newspaper-narrative: framing, terrorism and media in Nigeria and beyond