The Arabs in the German media: Reality & representation “DW”TV &” Der Spiegel” magazine as a case study

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the visions of the Arab presence in two popular German media outlets during two different time periods (2013 and 2020), as well as the changes that have occurred in the seven years between them. It aims to analyze the political media landscape, examining the use of words, direct connotations, and connotations stored in text, speech, or image.

Methodology: This research is part of an analytical descriptive research, which aims to describe the specific characteristics of a phenomenon as it is, without the use of statistical procedures.

Results: As a result of social mobility in Arab nations including Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, the study's findings suggested that "Arab revolutions" in 2011 slightly altered German public attitude about Arabs; however, this effect swiftly vanished. The study revealed the symbiotic relationship between politics and the media in Germany, as well as the primary causes of the persistence of historical hostility and rivalry between Islam and Christianity and the existence of the Zionist occupation state in the Middle East, as well as the negative perception of Arabs in German public opinion.

Conclusion: The study emphasized the covert relationship between media moguls and political decision-makers, which frequently manifests itself in symbolic form through discourse based on a theory that produces knowledge, in form and meaning, to serve political authority, undermine opposing authorities, persuade the public with new perceptions, eliminate other perceptions, and clash with hostile cultures, thereby leaving no room for public criticism.