Children in The New York Times’ Israeli-Palestinian War Coverage A Corpus-Based Critical Analysis

This study investigates the discursive use of children in The New York Times’ coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from October 2023 to July 2024. Combining quantitative corpus-based methods with qualitative critical discourse analysis, the research identifies key lexical features and examines the framing techniques used by the newspaper to narrate the war. Findings indicate that the image of children is a powerful discursive tool to influence both emotional and cognitive responses. It serves various discursive purposes, such as humanising discourse, evoking emotions from pity to horror, framing the conflict in moral terms, legitimising political actions, and maintaining narrative cohesion. Particularly, the strategic use of children’s images not only vilifies the opposing side by highlighting a stark moral contrast but also justifies military action, reinforcing the perceived righteousness of one’s own cause. Furthermore, a significant disparity is noted in the individualisation of children: Israeli children are often depicted with detailed personal stories, enhancing their humanisation, while Palestinian children are more frequently represented through aggregated numbers, highlighting the scale of the tragedy but possibly diluting personal aspects of their suffering.