Information Campaign in the Media Coverage of the European Refugee Crisis - Research Proposal Example

Campaign Report: European Refugees Student’s Name Institution Campaign Report: European Refugees Introduction The trend that became quite major in 2015 resulted in a crisis that most nations have debated about, with many of them criticising the increasing influx of people from different country; mostly from the Middle East; whilst of the supporting the initiatives to allow their stay and provision survival needs. The arrival of arrival of people illegally into Europe across the Mediterranean Sea or through the Southeast part of Europe has gone up over the past two years, including people that are seeking for asylum and those that can be considered to be economic migrants. However, their stay in European countries has not been welcomed by most natives in various country, hence the intense political campaign against the increasing unauthorised foreign migrants. Most political campaigns assume different forms of propaganda that oriented towards mass persuading the public or majority to agree with or against particular political idea or issue. The 2016 refugee crisis in Europe has also demonstrated various areas of application and implication role of propaganda in a political campaign and the public. The campaign pictures various nations as participants, including France, United Kingdom (UK), Spain, Germany, and Sweden, amongst others. Therefore, the use of propaganda information to convince the majority of these nations against the idea of accepting unauthorised migration into Europe is based in a liberal-pluralistic society. This paper seeks to assess the effectiveness of information campaign in the media coverage of the European refugee crisis to establish how mass persuasion operates and information is framed for particular purpose. The paper intends to employ content analysis of various media items whilst assessing their impacts amongst various European nations towards the issue of unauthorised migration into the region. Literature Review Clawson & Oxley (2013) describe propaganda as a tool used to lead an audience towards a certain conclusion about a particular topic. The contemporary society characterises the vast application of this method, mostly in political campaign, towards attracting and gathering support towards the views of a particular group. The use of propaganda in a political campaign employs strategies such as slogans or bandwagon, name calling, endorsement, glittering generality, and use of symbols that identify with patriotism (Turner, 2017). Politics and its activities are mainly based on the ability of a politician or political group to communicate convincingly or persuasively to the public. However, Damberger (2013) and Mullen & Khaehn (2012) suggest that politicians and sociologist need to comprehend the different perspectives that are associated with societal communications, since pluralistic liberal society has always been identified with hierarchical nature and communication that involves broad use of the media. Further, Mullen & Khaehn (2012) explain that the distribution of power within the contemporary liberal-democratic societies takes different dimension of media usage. Based on the perspective of liberal-pluralistic society, political system is described as a platform where different opinions, policy proposals and world views are allowed to shape the practice of the people. Benkler (n.d.), Richardson (2013), Browne (2015), Geddes (n.d.), and Marcus (2016) inform that the media is an integral part of a liberal or society, as well as activist’s, through which individuals get information whilst they also participate in activities within the society; media observes and promotes the interest of the public in the contemporary liberal society. However, through the media, information that is subject to transparency concerns is obtained. The acquisition of social power is mostly promoted by the media. Rieger et al. (2017) argue that media is prone to propaganda, which the authoritarians employ, alongside their attitudes and psychological uncertainty, to shape the ideas and beliefs of the public towards their views about a political issue. Similarly, Alpes & Sorensen (2015) supports that care should be taken whilst implementing the directives of information that has been obtained through the most media channels since some of them are individual-based ideas that seek to convince the public towards them. The European refugee crisis presents various instances of campaign against and in support of migration of people from the perceived threatened countries into Europe. Through the campaigns, both the participatory and broadcast media have been vastly used to shape the opinions of the public in different European countries. It is through the broadcast media that the situations that render many people emigrants of their countries have been propagated; leading to the idea that even the unauthorised migration of refugees into Europe can be considered and allowed for the sake the unable seeking for survival. Scheel & Ratfisch (n.d.) and McDonald (2015) argue that the consideration of the situation that leads to people fleeing their country has, in many instances, influenced the adoption of refugee protection and migration management to provide survival necessities to the refugees. However, it is also through the media that intense campaigns against such migrations and offer of support have been disputed and repelled using different media propaganda. Vonberg (2017) reports that various European countries have tighten their refugee policies in response to the many information campaigns that surround the European refugee crisis. Similarly, Newman (2016), Browne (2015) and Geddes (n.d.) argue that information campaign, which the major portion of it is based on propaganda that they increase security risks, has resulted in hostile reactions by different European countries against the unauthorised migration into the region, alongside refugee trafficking across European boarders. As a result, strict and aggressive policies have been enacted to punish the offenders. Method Employing content analysis, the idea those refugees that migrate into Europe impacts security risks in the region resulting in increased potential of terrorism in their host countries has been attributed to aspects of propaganda. Through media campaign involving targeted community focused messaging and social mobilisation, responses have been major and their key outcomes include adoption and implementation of difference polices all over Europe to deter irregular and unauthorised migration of refugees from their countries of origin into Europe. Whilst supporter who sound to understand the situations of the refugees argue that it is normal to flee one’s country and seek support from another, the intense and aggressive opposition has managed to convince the majority of Europeans that anecdotal evidence suggest that there are limited, if any, reasons why migrants should leave their country and seek support in Europe (Bowne, 2015). According to the author, different European countries have argued that the campaigns against refugees migration into Europe come as a result of the perceived intents of the countries of origin that seek to weaken the security and political recognitions of European countries. Gaddes (n.d.) also reports that the politics behind European refugees’ campaign is as a result of the perceived threats that these immigrants pose to their hosts. Through various government report, press releases, news stories, blogs, social media platforms and public addresses in many European countries, the majority have been convinced that most irregular migrants into Europe are terrorists that should not be allowed in the region. For instance, Italy has been linked to media driven public hostility towards refugees coming into Europe. According to Berry et al. (2015), Italy, like many other European countries, campaign though their media that immigrants fleeing their country due to poverty and hunger, as a result of mismanagement of their governments, should not be allowed into Europe; instead, they are deemed threat to the wellbeing of the Europeans, competing towards the limited resources that are meant for the natives. Similarly, various European countries have argued that Islamist terrorists have used the berg to smuggle Jihad soldiers and suicide bombers into Europe posing high level of security threat to the Europeans (Berry et al., 2015). Amongst the many media items, those that have been conveyed to the public through various social media have also linked the European refugees to terrorism threats. Even though Rieger et al. (2017) and Alpes & Sorensen (2015) argue that the information that is fed to the public through social and other various forms of media is mostly propaganda against the ethical practices and support towards European refugees, Oeppen (2016) and Berry et al. (2015) argue that many European citizens, including their governments, have managed to influence the majority of the region against unauthorised immigration of refuges into the countries. However, not all people have considered these perceived propagandas viable or reliable. Russia, for instance, has criticised European countries for making excuses to avoid compliance with the UN Convention on Refugees (Goncharenko, 2016). The author elaborates further that the UN Convention on Refugees allow hosting of refugees that evidently fleeing their countries due to unbearable circumstance, such as those in Syria, and supporting them till it is safe to go back. Therefore, it is evident that, despite the effectiveness of propaganda in convincing the public and nations against European refugees, the idea of terrorism association with the refugees have been considered aggressive and disputed to certain degree, hence various instance of negative reception. Findings The immigration of refugees into Europe was considerably moderate with relatively few refugees coming from Middle East, especially Syria, fleeing as a result of various problems such as effects of war. Previously, the refugees were supported and those that were seeking asylum were helped. However, the crisis commenced following the increasing unauthorised immigration of refugees into the region. As a result, different perceptions evoked propaganda from different people in almost every European country against refugees. Since then, the European refugees campaign as demonstrated application of glittering generalities perspective of propaganda towards enacting laws and policies to deter immigration into Europe. Mass persuasion, operating through propaganda that identifies the refugees with the possibilities of committing terror in the host countries, has framed the information about the issue of unauthorised immigration for the purpose of convincing nations to protect their citizens and promote their wellbeing, on which the campaign stresses that would eventually be compromised by the refugees. This aspect is a defence mechanism against the allegations that Europe is avoiding compliance with the Convention to Refugees. However, is demonstrates elements of biasness and unethical conducts such as identifying only the Muslims with possibility of terrorism and failing to consider the unbearable situations that might have caused emigrations of refugees from their home countries. Conclusion The political campaign is entirely about knowing how to use the situation that the society face to reshape their opinion about the topic of concern. Like many other political campaigns, Europeans have demonstrated the effectiveness of propaganda as a way that mass persuasion operates in the by faming the information for the purpose of diverting the opinions of the majority in the society. Media has been demonstrated, through its various forms, as an integral tool to source and convey information and promote diffusion of propaganda amongst the target groups. References Alpes, M.J. & Sorensen, N.N. (2015). Migration risk campaigns are based on wrong assumptions. DIIS Policy Brief, May 2015. Berry, M., Garcia-Blanco, I. & Moore, K. (2015). Press coverage of the refugee and migrant crisis in the EU: a content analysis of five European countries. Report prepared for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Browne, E. (2015). Impact of communication campaigns to deter irregular migration (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1248). Gov.UK. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a0896840f0b652dd0001f4/HQ1248.pdf Clawson, R. A., & Oxley, Z. M. (2013). Public Opinion: Democratic Ideals, Democratic Practice. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 21(1), 122-124. Damberger, S.A. (2013). Activism or slacktivism? Evaluating the effectiveness of online activist movement through an analysis of KONY 2012 (Bachelor’s Thesis) Geddes, A. (n.d.). The politics of migration and immigration in Europe. Los Angeles/London/New Delhi, Singapore/ Washington DC: SAGE Publications Inc. Goncharenko, R. (2016). Russia uses the refugee crisis for propaganda, Made for Minds. Retrieved from http://www.dw.com/en/russia-uses-the-refugee-crisis-for-propaganda/a-18989796 Marcus, F. (2016). Political communication through party channels: a content analysis of Estonia political parties’ communication during the European refugee crisis 2015-2016 (Master’s Thesis). McDonald, G. (2015). Europe’s propaganda coup: “welcome, refugees!” Counterpunch. Retrieved from http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/17/europes-propaganda-coup-welcome-refugees/ Mullen, A. & Klaehn, J. (2010). The Herman-Chomsky propaganda model: a critical approach to analysing mass media behaviour. Sociology Compass, 4(4): 215-229. Newman, A. (2016). Refugee crisis has Europe on Brink, New American. Retrieved from https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/22804-refugee-crisis-has-europe-on-the-brink Oeppen, C. (2016). ‘Leaving Afghanistan! Are you sure?’ European efforts to deter potential migrants through information campaigns. Human Geography, 9(2): 57-68. Richardson, D.W. (2013). Non-party organisations and campaigns on European integration in Britain, 1945-1986: political and public activism (Master’s Thesis). Rieger, D., Frischlich, L. & Bente, G. (2017). Propaganda in an insecure, unstructured world: how psychological uncertainty and authoritarian attitude shape the evaluation of right-wing extremist internet propaganda. Journal for Deradicalisatio, 10: 2363-9849. Scheel, S. & Ratfisch, P. (n.d.). Refugee protection meets migration management: UNHCR as a global police of population. Journal of Ethics and Migration Studies. Turner, L.L. (2017). Propaganda techniques for election, Classroom. Retrieved from http://classroom.synonym.com/propaganda-techniques-elections-9133.html Vonberg, J. (2017). How some European countries are tightening their refugee policies, CNN. 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