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COMPARING THE DISCOURSE REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN EUROPE ACROSS TRADITIONAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA

We analyzed ~16 million social media posts (Twitter, Youtube and Reddit) and ~2 million news articles across nine different languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Polish). The posts were selected using similar query criteria. We dissected the discourse along two dimensions. First, we identified specific themes present across the different language […]

Migration as a polarizing issue on social media

Social media are one of the main arenas in which European citizens discuss policy issues such as migration and in which opinion formation on such issues takes place through the sharing and consumption of information and views. At the same time, it is an arena in which traditional and alternative media, NGOs, and politicians share their views on migration and interact with citizens to promote their agenda. For this reason, social media are a melting pot of different actors and interests, and a lens through which the European discourse on migration can be studied. Social media offer both, a huge potential for, on the one side, the free and democratic exchange and, on the other, for polarization and manipulation of the European discourse on migration.

Who says what? Studying social media discourses on international protection

Who’s name is mentioned more frequently in social media content related to refuge and migration: Angelina Jolie, Pope Francis, or Donal Trump? Are some refugee groups mentioned more frequently than others? Do social media discussions respond to real world events related to asylum and migration policy? In this vlog, Anamaria Dutceac Segesten presents some of PROTECT’s preliminary results from our research on social media discourses on refugees and migrants.