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Disinformation Campaigns Targeting Migrants in the Western World During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Year 2023, Issue: 11 - Theme: Disinformation, 127 - 156, 16.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.54722/iletisimvediplomasi.1376254

Abstract

In the digital age, technological advancements have revolutionised the way individuals connect and share information, yet this same era has ushered in a surge of disinformation. The unprecedented threat of Covid-19 not only posed a worldwide health emergency but also intensified the crisis of disinformation. This study delves into the complex web of disinformation, with a particular focus on its intersection with anti-migrant sentiments and policies in the Western world amidst the Covid-19 health crisis. It analyses specific disinformation campaigns that have targeted migrants in Western countries during the Covid-19 period, with a particular emphasis on examples from Europe and the United States (U.S.). The research sample comprises statements released by far-right groups and political leaders in the early phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, covering the period from January 2020 to December 2020. For this study, the main data source was collected from various media outlets, including online magazines, newspaper platforms, and articles. The rhetoric of far-right groups and politicians in the West was analysed and evaluated within the framework of critical discourse analysis. The study reveals that certain politicians and political groups in the West, through disinformation, legitimise their anti-immigrant stance, making immigrants scapegoats by instrumentalising Covid-19 to gain support. It further highlights that these identified political figures and groups, characterised by populist and far-right tendencies, depict immigrants as a threat by establishing a connection between immigrants and the rapid progression of the epidemic and seeking to legitimise anti-immigrant policies.

References

  • About Hungary (2020). Hungary shuts border due to “link between the coronavirus and migration”. Retrieved from https://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/hungary-shuts-border-due-to-link-between-the-coronavirus-and-migration.
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  • Altun, F. (2023). Truth Is a Human Right: Türkiye’s Stance on the Fight against Disinformation. Insight Turkey, 25(1), 13-27.
  • Andreou, A. (2020). Europe’s Far-Right Exploits COVID-19 for Anti-Refugee Propaganda. BalkanInsight. Retrieved from https://balkaninsight.com/2020/06/04/europes-far-right-exploits- covid-19-for-anti-refugee-propaganda/.
  • Bieber, F. (2020). Global Nationalism in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nationalities Papers, 50(1), 1–13.
  • Birdsall, A. (2022). Opportunistic oppression: U.S. migration restrictions and public health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Journal of Human Rights, 27(5), 809-829.
  • Budryk, Z. (2020). Facebook takes down Trump campaign ads tying refugees to coronavirus. The Hill. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/policy/technology/519070-facebook-takes-down-trump-campaign- ads-tying-refugees-to-coronavirus/.
  • Coates, M. (2020). Covid-19 and the rise of racism. BMJ, 369.
  • Crawley, H. (2021). The Politics of Refugee Protection in a (Post)COVID-19 World. Social Sciences, 10(81), 1-14.
  • Cowper, A. (2020). Covid-19: Are we getting the communications right? BMJ,368. Retrieved from https:// doi.org./10.1136/bmj.m919
  • Dearen, J. & Burke, G. (2020). Pence ordered borders closed after CDC experts refused. AP News. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-pandemics-public-health- new-york-health-4ef0c6c5263815a26f8aa17f6ea490ae.
  • Dempster, H., Ginn,T., Graham, J., Ble, M. G., Jayasinghe, D., & Shorey, B. (2020). Locked Down and left Behind: The Impact of COVID-19 on Refugees’ Economic Inclusion. CGDEV Policy Paper. Washington: Center for Global Development and Refugees International.
  • Dennison, J. & Geddes, A. (2019). A Rising Tide? The Salience of Immigration and the Rise of Anti-Immigration Political Parties in Western Europe. The Political Quarterly, 90(1), 107-116.
  • Einashe, I. (2020). How Italy used the year of COVID-19 to scapegoat migrants. Daily Beast. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-italy-used-the-year-of-covid-19-to-scapegoat- migrants?ref=scroll
  • Ekşi, M. (2022). Kamu Diplomasisinde Post-Truth: Bir Meydan Okuma Olarak Dezenformasyon. İletişim ve Diplomasi, 9, 3-24.
  • Europa Press (2020). Vox alerta a los inmigrantes que quieran venir a España por el ingreso mínimo: “No hay dinero para todos”. Retrieved from https://www.europapress.es/sociedad/noticia- vox-alerta-inmigrantes-quieran-venir-espana-ingreso-minimo-no-hay-dinero-todos- 20200602205056.html.
  • European Commission (2018a). Action Plan against Disinformation. Retrieved from https://www. eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/action_plan_against_disinformation.pdf
  • European Commission (2018b). Fake news and disinformation online. Retrieved from https://europa. eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2183.
  • European Commission. (2019). A Europe that protects: E.U. reports on progress in fighting disinformation ahead of European Council. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/ presscorner/detail/en/IP_19_2914
  • Fowler, R. (2013). Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press. Routledge.
  • Garrett, T. M. (2020). COVID-19, wall building, and the effects on Migrant Protection Protocols by the Trump administration: the spectacle of the worsening human rights disaster on the Mexico-U.S. border. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42(2), 240-248.
  • Gilman, D. (2020). Barricading the Border: COVID-19 and the Exclusion of Asylum Seekers at the U.S. Southern Border. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, pp. 1-10.
  • Gonzalez, M. (2020). Vox pide quitar la sanidad gratuita a los inmigrantes irregulares durante el estado de alarma. El país. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/espana/2020-03-24/vox-pide-quitarla-sanidad-gratuita-a-los-inmigrantes-irregulares-durante-el-estado-de-alarma.html
  • Gorondi, P. (2020a). Asylum-seekers, coronavirus collide with complicated results. The Associated Press. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-health-ap-top-news-international- news-budapest-f17cd45283c0d2e5db5c173f06f5c3b1.
  • Gorondi, P. (2020b). Rights groups concerned about refugees facing stigma amid outbreak in Europe. The Associated Press. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/rights- groups-concerned-about-refugees-facing-stigma-amid-outbreak-in-europe.
  • Gostoli, Y. (2020). How European populists are using coronavirus as a political tool. Aljazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/3/3/how-european-populists-are-using- coronavirus-as-a-political-tool. (Date of Access: September 8, 2023).
  • Grinberg, N., Joseph, K., Friedland, L., Swire-Thompson, B., & Lazer, D. (2019). Fake news on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Science, 363(6425), 374–378.
  • Guess, A. M. & Lyons, B. A. (2020). Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Propaganda. In Nathaniel Persily & Joshua A. Tucker (eds.), Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform (pp. 10-33). Cambridge University Press.
  • Hébert-Dufresne, L. & Yang, V. C. (2020). Misinformation about an outbreak like Covid-19 is important public health data. STATNEWS. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/07/ misinformation-outbreak-is-important-public-health-data/.
  • House of Commons (2020). Oral evidence: Home Office preparedness for Covid-19 (coronavirus), HC 232. Home Affairs Committee. Retrieved from https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/359/default/. IOM (n.d.). COVID-19 Analytical Snapshot. Retrieved from https://www.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl486/ files/documents/covid-19_analytical_snapshot_19_-_misinformation.pdf. (Date of Access: August 25, 2023).
  • IOM (2018), World Migration Report. Retrieved from https://publications. iom.int/system/files/pdf/ wmr_2018_en.pdf.
  • IOM (2021). Sentiment towards Migration during COVID-19: What Twitter Data Can Tell Us. Retrieved from https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/Harnessing-Twitter_0.pdf.
  • İnalcı, A. (2021). Analyzing Securitization of Migration During the Pandemic: Examples From the United States. Journal of International Relations and Political Science Studies, 5, 5-21.
  • Juhász, A. & Szicherle, P. (2017). The political effects of migration-related fake news, disinformation and conspiracy theories in Europe. Budapest: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Büro Budapest/ Political Capital. Retrieved from https://politicalcapital.hu/pc-admin/source/documents/ FES_PC_FakeNewsMigrationStudy_EN_20170607.pdf.
  • Kalsnes, B. (2018). Fake news. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kampf, Z. (2015). Political Discourse Analysis. In Karen Tracy & Cornelia Ilie (eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction. US: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 2-3.
  • Kanno-Youngs, Z. & Semple, K. (2020). The New York Times. Trump Cites Coronavirus as He Announces a Border Crackdown. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/us/politics/ trump-border-coronavirus.html.
  • Karakulak, A. (2022). The Pandemic–Prejudice Link: Young Adults’ Feelings About Refugees Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic. IPC Mercator Analysis. Retrieved from https://ipc.sabanciuniv. edu/Content/Images/CKeditorImages/20220210-21021578.pdf.
  • Karlova, N.A. & Fisher, K.E. (2012). “Plz RT”: A Social Diffusion Model of Misinformation and Disinformation for Understanding Human Information Behaviour. Proceedings of the ISIC2012 (Tokyo). Retrieved from https://www.fondationdescartes.org/en/2020/08/plz-rt-a-social-diffusion-model- of-misinformation-and-disinformationfor-understanding-human-information-behaviour/.
  • Kent, J. L. & Ingram, D. (2020). Facebook removes Trump ads on refugees and Covid-19. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-removes-trump-ads- refugees-covid-19-n1241602.
  • Kessler, G. (2021). Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/ politics/how-fact-checker-tracked-trump-claims/2021/01/23/ad04b69a-5c1d-11eb-a976- bad6431e03e2_story.html
  • Krasimirov, A. & Tsolova, T. (2020). Bulgaria’s Roma say some coronavirus measures are discriminatory. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-bulgaria- roma-idUSKBN21B355/.

Covid-19 Pandemisi Sırasında Batı Dünyasında Göçmenleri Hedef Alan Dezenformasyon Kampanyaları

Year 2023, Issue: 11 - Theme: Disinformation, 127 - 156, 16.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.54722/iletisimvediplomasi.1376254

Abstract

Dijital çağda, teknolojik gelişmeler bireylerin bağlantı kurma ve bilgi paylaşma yöntemlerinde devrim yaratmıştır. Ancak aynı çağ dezenformasyonun da artmasına neden olmuştur. Covid-19 tehdidi sadece küresel bir sağlık krizi oluşturmakla kalmamış, aynı zamanda dezenformasyon krizini de yoğunlaştırmıştır. Bu çalışma, Covid-19 salgını sırasında Batı dünyasındaki göçmen karşıtı söylem ve politikalarla kesişmesine özellikle odaklanarak karmaşık dezenformasyon ağını incelemektedir. Covid-19 döneminde Batı ülkelerindeki göçmenleri hedef alan belirli dezenformasyon kampanyalarını, Avrupa ve Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’ndeki örneklere özellikle vurgu yaparak analiz etmektedir. Araştırma örneklemi, Covid-19 salgınının erken evrelerinde Ocak 2020'den Aralık 2020'ye kadar olan dönemi kapsayan ve aşırı sağcı gruplar ile siyasi liderler tarafından yapılan açıklamalardan oluşmaktadır. Bu çalışma için ana veri kaynağı, çevrim içi dergiler, gazete platformları ve makaleler dâhil olmak üzere çeşitli medya kuruluşlarından oluşmaktadır. Batı'daki aşırı sağcı grupların ve siyasetçilerin söylemleri eleştirel söylem analizi çerçevesinde incelenmiş ve değerlendirilmiştir. Bu itibarla çalışma, Batı'daki bazı politikacıların ve siyasi grupların dezenformasyon yoluyla göçmen karşıtı duruşlarını meşrulaştırdıklarını ve destek kazanmak için Covid-19'u araçsallaştırarak göçmenleri günah keçisi hâline getirdiklerini ortaya koymaktadır. Ayrıca, popülist ve aşırı sağ eğilimlerle karakterize edilen bu siyasi figür ve grupların, göçmenler ile salgının hızlı ilerleyişi arasında bir bağlantı kurarak göçmenleri bir tehdit olarak tasvir ettikleri ve göçmen karşıtı politikaları meşrulaştırmaya çalıştıklarını vurgulamaktadır.

References

  • About Hungary (2020). Hungary shuts border due to “link between the coronavirus and migration”. Retrieved from https://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/hungary-shuts-border-due-to-link-between-the-coronavirus-and-migration.
  • Abrams, D., Lalot, F. & Hogg, M. A. (2021). Intergroup and Intragroup Dimensions of COVID-19: A Social Identity Perspective on Social Fragmentation and Unity. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(2), 201–209.
  • Altun, F. (2023). Truth Is a Human Right: Türkiye’s Stance on the Fight against Disinformation. Insight Turkey, 25(1), 13-27.
  • Andreou, A. (2020). Europe’s Far-Right Exploits COVID-19 for Anti-Refugee Propaganda. BalkanInsight. Retrieved from https://balkaninsight.com/2020/06/04/europes-far-right-exploits- covid-19-for-anti-refugee-propaganda/.
  • Bieber, F. (2020). Global Nationalism in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nationalities Papers, 50(1), 1–13.
  • Birdsall, A. (2022). Opportunistic oppression: U.S. migration restrictions and public health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Journal of Human Rights, 27(5), 809-829.
  • Budryk, Z. (2020). Facebook takes down Trump campaign ads tying refugees to coronavirus. The Hill. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/policy/technology/519070-facebook-takes-down-trump-campaign- ads-tying-refugees-to-coronavirus/.
  • Coates, M. (2020). Covid-19 and the rise of racism. BMJ, 369.
  • Crawley, H. (2021). The Politics of Refugee Protection in a (Post)COVID-19 World. Social Sciences, 10(81), 1-14.
  • Cowper, A. (2020). Covid-19: Are we getting the communications right? BMJ,368. Retrieved from https:// doi.org./10.1136/bmj.m919
  • Dearen, J. & Burke, G. (2020). Pence ordered borders closed after CDC experts refused. AP News. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-pandemics-public-health- new-york-health-4ef0c6c5263815a26f8aa17f6ea490ae.
  • Dempster, H., Ginn,T., Graham, J., Ble, M. G., Jayasinghe, D., & Shorey, B. (2020). Locked Down and left Behind: The Impact of COVID-19 on Refugees’ Economic Inclusion. CGDEV Policy Paper. Washington: Center for Global Development and Refugees International.
  • Dennison, J. & Geddes, A. (2019). A Rising Tide? The Salience of Immigration and the Rise of Anti-Immigration Political Parties in Western Europe. The Political Quarterly, 90(1), 107-116.
  • Einashe, I. (2020). How Italy used the year of COVID-19 to scapegoat migrants. Daily Beast. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-italy-used-the-year-of-covid-19-to-scapegoat- migrants?ref=scroll
  • Ekşi, M. (2022). Kamu Diplomasisinde Post-Truth: Bir Meydan Okuma Olarak Dezenformasyon. İletişim ve Diplomasi, 9, 3-24.
  • Europa Press (2020). Vox alerta a los inmigrantes que quieran venir a España por el ingreso mínimo: “No hay dinero para todos”. Retrieved from https://www.europapress.es/sociedad/noticia- vox-alerta-inmigrantes-quieran-venir-espana-ingreso-minimo-no-hay-dinero-todos- 20200602205056.html.
  • European Commission (2018a). Action Plan against Disinformation. Retrieved from https://www. eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/action_plan_against_disinformation.pdf
  • European Commission (2018b). Fake news and disinformation online. Retrieved from https://europa. eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2183.
  • European Commission. (2019). A Europe that protects: E.U. reports on progress in fighting disinformation ahead of European Council. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/ presscorner/detail/en/IP_19_2914
  • Fowler, R. (2013). Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press. Routledge.
  • Garrett, T. M. (2020). COVID-19, wall building, and the effects on Migrant Protection Protocols by the Trump administration: the spectacle of the worsening human rights disaster on the Mexico-U.S. border. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42(2), 240-248.
  • Gilman, D. (2020). Barricading the Border: COVID-19 and the Exclusion of Asylum Seekers at the U.S. Southern Border. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, pp. 1-10.
  • Gonzalez, M. (2020). Vox pide quitar la sanidad gratuita a los inmigrantes irregulares durante el estado de alarma. El país. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/espana/2020-03-24/vox-pide-quitarla-sanidad-gratuita-a-los-inmigrantes-irregulares-durante-el-estado-de-alarma.html
  • Gorondi, P. (2020a). Asylum-seekers, coronavirus collide with complicated results. The Associated Press. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-health-ap-top-news-international- news-budapest-f17cd45283c0d2e5db5c173f06f5c3b1.
  • Gorondi, P. (2020b). Rights groups concerned about refugees facing stigma amid outbreak in Europe. The Associated Press. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/rights- groups-concerned-about-refugees-facing-stigma-amid-outbreak-in-europe.
  • Gostoli, Y. (2020). How European populists are using coronavirus as a political tool. Aljazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/3/3/how-european-populists-are-using- coronavirus-as-a-political-tool. (Date of Access: September 8, 2023).
  • Grinberg, N., Joseph, K., Friedland, L., Swire-Thompson, B., & Lazer, D. (2019). Fake news on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Science, 363(6425), 374–378.
  • Guess, A. M. & Lyons, B. A. (2020). Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Propaganda. In Nathaniel Persily & Joshua A. Tucker (eds.), Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform (pp. 10-33). Cambridge University Press.
  • Hébert-Dufresne, L. & Yang, V. C. (2020). Misinformation about an outbreak like Covid-19 is important public health data. STATNEWS. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/07/ misinformation-outbreak-is-important-public-health-data/.
  • House of Commons (2020). Oral evidence: Home Office preparedness for Covid-19 (coronavirus), HC 232. Home Affairs Committee. Retrieved from https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/359/default/. IOM (n.d.). COVID-19 Analytical Snapshot. Retrieved from https://www.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl486/ files/documents/covid-19_analytical_snapshot_19_-_misinformation.pdf. (Date of Access: August 25, 2023).
  • IOM (2018), World Migration Report. Retrieved from https://publications. iom.int/system/files/pdf/ wmr_2018_en.pdf.
  • IOM (2021). Sentiment towards Migration during COVID-19: What Twitter Data Can Tell Us. Retrieved from https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/Harnessing-Twitter_0.pdf.
  • İnalcı, A. (2021). Analyzing Securitization of Migration During the Pandemic: Examples From the United States. Journal of International Relations and Political Science Studies, 5, 5-21.
  • Juhász, A. & Szicherle, P. (2017). The political effects of migration-related fake news, disinformation and conspiracy theories in Europe. Budapest: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Büro Budapest/ Political Capital. Retrieved from https://politicalcapital.hu/pc-admin/source/documents/ FES_PC_FakeNewsMigrationStudy_EN_20170607.pdf.
  • Kalsnes, B. (2018). Fake news. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kampf, Z. (2015). Political Discourse Analysis. In Karen Tracy & Cornelia Ilie (eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction. US: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 2-3.
  • Kanno-Youngs, Z. & Semple, K. (2020). The New York Times. Trump Cites Coronavirus as He Announces a Border Crackdown. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/us/politics/ trump-border-coronavirus.html.
  • Karakulak, A. (2022). The Pandemic–Prejudice Link: Young Adults’ Feelings About Refugees Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic. IPC Mercator Analysis. Retrieved from https://ipc.sabanciuniv. edu/Content/Images/CKeditorImages/20220210-21021578.pdf.
  • Karlova, N.A. & Fisher, K.E. (2012). “Plz RT”: A Social Diffusion Model of Misinformation and Disinformation for Understanding Human Information Behaviour. Proceedings of the ISIC2012 (Tokyo). Retrieved from https://www.fondationdescartes.org/en/2020/08/plz-rt-a-social-diffusion-model- of-misinformation-and-disinformationfor-understanding-human-information-behaviour/.
  • Kent, J. L. & Ingram, D. (2020). Facebook removes Trump ads on refugees and Covid-19. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-removes-trump-ads- refugees-covid-19-n1241602.
  • Kessler, G. (2021). Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/ politics/how-fact-checker-tracked-trump-claims/2021/01/23/ad04b69a-5c1d-11eb-a976- bad6431e03e2_story.html
  • Krasimirov, A. & Tsolova, T. (2020). Bulgaria’s Roma say some coronavirus measures are discriminatory. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-bulgaria- roma-idUSKBN21B355/.
There are 42 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Communication Studies, International Relations (Other)
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Burçak Dengiz 0009-0004-2152-4820

Early Pub Date December 16, 2023
Publication Date December 16, 2023
Submission Date October 15, 2023
Acceptance Date December 12, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Issue: 11 - Theme: Disinformation

Cite

APA Dengiz, B. (2023). Disinformation Campaigns Targeting Migrants in the Western World During the Covid-19 Pandemic. İletişim Ve Diplomasi(11), 127-156. https://doi.org/10.54722/iletisimvediplomasi.1376254