Media Representation of Afghan and Ukrainian Refugees in Turkey: A Comparative Analysis of Sabah and Sözcü Newspapers

Abstract

Recent geopolitical events have precipitated a refugee crisis affecting Turkey, among other countries. The Taliban's seizure of control in Afghanistan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have led to significant influxes of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees, respectively, into Turkey. This study examines the media representation of these two refugee groups in Turkish media, focusing on the country's two most-read online newspapers, Sabah and Sözcü, which represent divergent political stances. Employing Mollard's (2001) classification model and thematic analysis, this research investigates how these newspapers depict each refugee group, aiming to understand the role of political orientation in refugee-related news coverage. The findings reveal that both newspapers, despite their political differences, generally portrayed Ukrainian refugees positively and Afghan refugees negatively. However, nuanced differences emerged in their reporting styles. Sabah emphasized the hospitality of Turkish people and the government towards Ukrainian refugees, while Sözcü adopted a more moderate stance, reporting both tragic stories and instances of illegal activities among Ukrainian refugees. Notably, while Ukrainian refugees (including stories about Ukrainian women) were prominently featured in Sözcü, regardless of positive or negative portrayal, Afghan women were conspicuously absent from both newspapers' coverage. This omission indicates a neglect of Afghan women's specific challenges and effectively renders them invisible in the media narrative. This study contributes to the understanding of media representation of diverse refugee groups and highlights the complex interplay between political orientation and refugee portrayal in media discourse.

Keywords

• Afghan refugees
• Ukrainian refugees
• Turkiye
• representation
• online newspapers

Türkiye’de Afgan ve Ukraynalı Mültecilerin Medyada Temsili: Sabah ve Sözcü Gazetelerinin Karşılaştırmalı Analizi

Abstract

Son dönemdeki jeopolitik olaylar, Türkiye'nin de aralarında bulunduğu birçok ülkeyi etkileyen bir mülteci krizine yol açmıştır. Taliban'ın Afganistan'da kontrolü ele geçirmesi ve Rusya'nın Ukrayna'yı işgali, Afgan ve Ukraynalı mültecilerin Türkiye'ye önemli ölçüde akın etmesine neden olmuştur. Bu çalışma, Türk medyasında bu iki mülteci grubunun temsilini incelemekte ve farklı siyasi duruşları temsil eden ülkenin en çok okunan iki çevrimiçi gazetesi olan Sabah ve Sözcü'ye odaklanmaktadır. Mollard'ın (2001) sınıflandırma modelini ve tematik analizi kullanan bu araştırma, bu gazetelerin her bir mülteci grubunu nasıl tasvir ettiğini inceleyerek, mültecilerle ilgili haber kapsamında siyasi yönelimin rolünü anlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Bulgular, siyasi farklılıklarına rağmen her iki gazetenin de genel olarak Ukraynalı mültecileri olumlu, Afgan mültecileri ise olumsuz bir şekilde tasvir ettiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Bununla birlikte, haber verme tarzlarında nüanslı farklılıklar ortaya çıkmıştır. Sabah, Türk halkının ve hükümetin Ukraynalı mültecilere karşı misafirperverliğini vurgularken, Sözcü daha ılımlı bir tutum benimseyerek Ukraynalı mültecilerin hem trajik hikayelerini hem de yasadışı faaliyetlerini bildirmiştir. Dikkat çekici bir şekilde, Ukraynalı mülteciler (Ukraynalı kadınlarla ilgili hikayeler de dahil) Sözcü'de olumlu veya olumsuz tasvir edilmelerine bakılmaksızın ön planda yer alırken, Afgan kadınlar her iki gazetenin de haberlerinde açıkça yer almamıştır. Bu ihmal, Afgan kadınların özel zorluklarının göz ardı edildiğini ve medya anlatısında onları görünmez kıldığını göstermektedir. Bu çalışma, çeşitli mülteci gruplarının medyada temsiline ilişkin anlayışa katkıda bulunmakta ve medya söyleminde siyasi yönelim ile mülteci tasvirinin karmaşık etkileşimini vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

• Afgan mülteciler
• Ukraynalı mülteciler
• Türkiye
• temsil
• çevrimiçi gazeteler

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