The Impact of Political Information Gathering Practices on the Perceived Threat about the Syrian Immigrants

Year 2021, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 417 - 439, 26.09.2021

Aysenur Dal , Efe Tokdemir

https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.943974

Abstract

In the case of individual attitudes towards immigrants’ integration in a host country, how concerning processes and actors are represented in the media is of utmost importance given its potential influence on host communities’ as well as external audiences’ perceptions about threats associated with refugees. This is because the frames and metaphors media use in the presentation of the immigrants contribute to the understanding of ordinary citizens regarding the political, economic, and social causes of immigration. In this study, we investigate the influence of media exposure on threat perceptions about Syrian refugees and a potential boundary condition moderating this relationship, i.e., where citizens reside. To test our theoretical expectations, we focus on the case of Turkey, a country that shares 500-mile-long border with Syria and hosts around more than 4 million Syrians who fled a violent civil war, and we use an original face-to-face survey of residents of Gaziantep, Istanbul, and Diyarbakir. As these cities vary by number/density of immigrants as well as relative resources available to citizens and immigrants, we examine whether local context influences the role media exposure plays in individuals’ perceived threat. Our findings based on the statistical analysis of the survey demonstrate that frequent use of mass media to acquire political news leads to higher threat perception about the immigrants, whereas frequent use of social media leads to lower levels of threat perceptions. Moreover, while mass vs. social media exposure differently influences threat perceptions about Syrian immigrants across the three cities examined, the observed effect of using mass media for getting political news is conditional on where the individual resides. Accordingly, the lower probability of direct contact with the immigrants increases the threat perception. In light of these findings, we acknowledge the need for a more detailed examination of both mass and social media sources in the acquisition of political news, as these sources have great impact in specifying how individuals’ threat perceptions are shaped.

Keywords

Mass media, social media, immigration, perceived threat, public opinion survey, quantitative analysis

Siyasi Haber Alma Pratiklerinin Suriyeli Göçmenlerle İlgili Tehdit Algıları Üzerindeki Etkileri

Abstract

Mültecilerin ev sahibi topluluklardaki entegrasyonuna yönelik bireysel tutumlar söz konusu olduğunda, ilgili süreç ve aktörlerin medyada nasıl temsil edildiği hem ev sahibi toplulukların hem de dış kitlelerin mültecilerle ilgili tehditlere dair algısı üzerindeki potansiyel etkisi nedeniyle büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu çalışmada, medya kullanımının Suriyeli mülteciler ile ilgili tehdit algıları üzerindeki etkisini ve bu ilişkiye aracılık eden potansiyel bir sınır koşulunu, yani vatandaşların ikamet yerini inceliyoruz. Teorik beklentilerimizi test etmek için, Suriye ile 804 kilometre uzunluğunda bir sınırı paylaşan ve şiddetli bir iç savaştan kaçmış yaklaşık 4 milyondan fazla Suriyeliye ev sahipliği yapan Türkiye örneğine odaklanıyor ve Gaziantep, İstanbul ve Diyarbakır sakinleriyle yapılan orijinal bir yüz yüze anketten faydalanıyoruz. Bu şehirler hem mültecilerin sayısı/yoğunluğu, hem de vatandaşların ve mültecilerin kullanabildiği ilgili kaynaklar açısından değişiklik gösterdiğinden, medya kullanımının bireylerin algıladığı tehditte oynadığı rolün yerel bağlamdan etkilenip etkilenmediğini inceliyoruz. Bulgularımız, kitlesel medya ile sosyal medya kullanımının, incelenen üç şehirde Suriyeli mültecilerle ilgili tehdit algılarını farklı şekilde etkilediğini, bununla birlikte, siyasi haber almak için kitlesel medya kullanımının gözlemlenen etkisinin kişinin ikamet ettiği yere bağlı olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

Kitle iletişim araçları, sosyal medya, göçmen krizi, tehdit algıları, kamuoyu araştırması, nicel analiz

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