Hate speech in Turkish media: The example of Charlie Hebdo attack’s
Journal of Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities · 2018
Aim: In this paper, the attacks at the French satirical magazine on January 7th, 2015, regarding Islam’s caricatures and the Prophet Mohammad theme have been examined. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the journalists’ view as to whether the caricature carries out the hate speech or the freedom of expression.Method: To reach the target, columns on the top five daily Turkish newspapers ranked by circulation written in the first six months of the massacre killed 12 people have been analyzed. Firstly, in this context, the definition of hate speech, to whom it is pointed, and its relationship with the freedom of expression have been examined, then the findings regarding the columnists have been analyzed.Findings: In this study, the mainstream media’s language has not been found as intense as to raise discriminatory language and prejudice. Columns have been written in the first six months following the Charlie Hebdo attack; it is shown that there has been an emphasis on freedom of expression and peace in often neutral and centrist newspapers. According to the research result, it is seen that the newspapers have made news as they represented their political ideologies and have not considered the other opinions.Implications/Novel Contribution: The significance of this study is that it draws attention to the separatist rhetoric and xenophobia used by individuals or communities who are the objects of hate speech, using media scanning, which is one of the most effective methods in the development of hate speech within the scope of research on hate speech in the national media. The media’s language is especially important if a long-term social environment is centred on equality and social justice.