Fear, drama, and reality:The presentation of the "Newborn Gang" news in Türkiye
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Abstract
Introduction: Child journalism requires careful use of language in both traditional media and social media. When problematic language is used in news stories involving children, the child as the subject of the news story becomes mediatized and the incident is further emphasized. The discourse constructed in the news shapes public perception of children. On social media platforms, children are often portrayed as vulnerable, leading to negative representation (Ponte et al., 2009). Methodology: To analyze how the incident was represented in the media, this study conducted a netnographic analysis of the X accounts of Pusholder, a social media news platform; Habertürk.com, an online news website; and Hürriyet, a print and online newspaper. News articles from April 27, 2024, to February 1, 2025, were analyzed using MAXQDA 2020 qualitative analysis software. Results: The results reveal that children were rarely portrayed as victims of violence in the news. Furthermore, it was observed that reports on the gang responsible for the babies' deaths were highly dramatized. Discussion: It was determined that news about the gang responsible for the babies' deaths was exaggerated. This, it was observed, fueled the dissemination and normalization of the topic on social media. Conclusions: The news commonly showed the individualization/personalization and mediatization of aspects related to the violence of the incident.
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