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Title FRAMING PROPAGANDA THROUGH TWITTER: A MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES TWEETS

Author(s) Hijab Zahra

Abstract The concept of conventional war has become obsolete, now it is an era of information warfare. Incorrect information, fake news, and narrative building are inseparable components of information warfare, which is used to disseminate propaganda through social media networks. In this aspect, the use of the Israeli Defense Forces' Twitter account as a tool in information warfare, for changing the narrative regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict, needs attention. For this scholarship, this project seeks to enlighten the public about the implications of propaganda in the Israeli Defense Forces’ Twitter account discourse. This study has used a mixed-method approach for data collection and analysis. For quantitative analysis, 530 tweets have been taken from the year 2022, whereas, for qualitative analysis, a sample of 44 tweets has been taken. As for the quantitative aspect, the IBM Watson model has been used for finding Interpersonal meanings in the tweets, which is an important aspect of SFL. As for the qualitative aspect, help has been taken from SFL, Martin’s (2005) appraisal framework for exploring Interpersonal meanings. In addition, transitivity processes have been employed for Ideational meanings. Moreover, the SFL multimodal discourse analysis modal has been used for semiotic resources. The findings of the study reveal the elements of propaganda in IDF’s tweets through the theoretical lens of ‘Framing’ and propaganda framework by Robert Entman (2003), and Da San Martino et al. (2019), respectively. This includes showing a one-sided picture of the Israel-Palestine conflict, using highly volatile language while reporting news, and lastly building a narrative of a peaceful army, that safeguards global values. The study argues that social media networks have wider implications for society. Moreover, the social media networks of IDF, are playing an active role in information warfare, to change the narrative about the genocide that has been happening in Gaza in their favour.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2024-04-02

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