Mass Media's Role in Terrorism: The Issue of Frame Sending and Terrorist Communication

Abstract The propaganda videos of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) became a widespread issue throughout the Western world between 2014 and 2017. The problem was not that the videos went viral on social media but that people learned about them and their content through the news. Each ISIL video posted on social media provoked some kind of media reaction that generated public attention. Given that a common framing effect leads people to think through the frames offered to them, journalists and media outlets can pick up frames and send them via their reporting. Based on a qualitative content analysis of news articles in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, this article shows that media outlets often sent ISIL’s frames and discussed related problems using the frames set by ISIL. Therefore, the media played a crucial role in the logic of this terrorist organization and its communication strategy by sending specific strategic communicator frames to the public. However, this analysis reveals that media framing changed over time: reporting became more balanced and, in some cases, even contested ISIL’s frames.