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A multidimensional analysis of media framing in the Russia-Ukraine war

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Majd Ibrahim
Majd Ibrahim
Majd Ibrahim
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Bang Wang
Bang Wang
Minghua Xu
Minghua Xu
Minghua Xu
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Han Xu at Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Han Xu
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Abstract and Figures

The media plays a crucial role in constructing narratives and shaping public interpretation of global crises, particularly in prolonged geopolitical disputes such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Given the significant humanitarian impact of this war, analyzing how it has been framed in the media provides valuable insights into its portrayal and the narratives that emerge over time. While numerous studies have examined media framing of the war, they often focus on isolated events or limited timeframes, overlooking the evolving nature of narratives. This study addresses this gap by conducting a longitudinal framing analysis of war coverage in news media over two years. Unsupervised machine learning models are utilized to explore transformations in volume, narrative themes, and portrayals of the war and its key actors. Our findings contribute to understanding how framing strategies in media coverage shape narratives, with potential implications for public perception and policy discourse. By examining patterns and differences in media framing, this study highlights how distinct editorial priorities influence the portrayal of the war and its broader consequences and potential imbalances in coverage.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Journal of Computational Social Science (2025) 8:34
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-025-00363-1
Abstract
The media plays a crucial role in constructing narratives and shaping public inter-
pretation of global crises, particularly in prolonged geopolitical disputes such as
the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Given the signicant humanitarian
impact of this war, analyzing how it has been framed in the media provides valuable
insights into its portrayal and the narratives that emerge over time. While numer-
ous studies have examined media framing of the war, they often focus on isolated
events or limited timeframes, overlooking the evolving nature of narratives. This
study addresses this gap by conducting a longitudinal framing analysis of war cov-
erage in news media over two years. Unsupervised machine learning models are
utilized to explore transformations in volume, narrative themes, and portrayals of
the war and its key actors. Our ndings contribute to understanding how framing
strategies in media coverage shape narratives, with potential implications for public
perception and policy discourse. By examining patterns and dierences in media
framing, this study highlights how distinct editorial priorities inuence the portrayal
of the war and its broader consequences and potential imbalances in coverage.
Keywords Russia-Ukraine war · Geopolitical crises · Media framing · News
media · Machine learning
1 Introduction
News media has a signicant inuence on shaping perceptions and opinions regard-
ing international conicts [1]. Its coverage plays a pivotal role in informing the public
and inuencing their perspectives on the involved issues [2]. Moreover, how the
media frame these conicts can have profound eects on policymakers [3]. There-
fore, it is essential to analyze the media’s framing and portrayal of various conicts,
especially in light of the growing inuence of digital media, which has the poten-
Received: 12 August 2024 / Accepted: 30 January 2025
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025
A multidimensional analysis of media framing in the
Russia-Ukraine war
MajdIbrahim1· BangWang1· MinghuaXu2· HanXu2
Extended author information available on the last page of the article
1 3
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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