Rojo, P. & Garrido, P. (2024), Islamophobia in the media, 2017-2021 (La islamofobia en los medios de comunicación, 2017-2021), Observatorio Español del Racismo y la Xenofobia (OBERAXE).

Country

Spain

Title

Rojo, P. & Garrido, P. (2024), Islamophobia in the media, 2017-2021 (La islamofobia en los medios de comunicación, 2017-2021), Observatorio Español del Racismo y la Xenofobia (OBERAXE).

View full research

Year

2024

Publication type

Report - official data on incidents

Geographical coverage

National

Area/location of interest

Not applicable - national level

Type of Institution

Public authority

Institution

Spain, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration / Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE).

Thematic focus

Public perceptions and attitudes

Groups

Muslims

Key findings

Anti-Muslim hatred is still prevalent, according to observations. Islamophobic terminology appears in 45.8% of the articles discussing the Muslim community in Spain and Europe. Given that it represented 62% in 2017, it was noted that the figure was declining. The lack of Muslim perspectives in articles about them was a significant factor. Muslim sources discussing their own reality are only present in 17.3% of the sample's pieces. Journalists' closeness to the facts led to the conclusion that texts with less Islamophobia are produced by featuring Muslim voices and addressing positive issues. Using news from agencies without critically analysing the substance is another issue, in addition to the dearth of sources from the Muslim community. The Islamophobic bias in some news reports, particularly those that discuss radicalization, originates with the source and follows the journalist.

Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)

Survey - quantitative research

Sample details and representativeness

Over a five-year period (2017–2021), 6,279 articles from various Spanish media sources were examined. After analysing 6 279 articles from various Spanish media outlets over five years (2017-2021), it can be seen that Islamophobia continues to exist, as almost half of the articles (45.8%) that discuss the Muslim community in Spain and Europe contained Islamophobic language. However, it is worth noting that this figure is decreasing, as at the beginning of this research (2017) it was 62%. Even so, it can be observed that after this initial decline, the levels of Islamophobia in most of the media remain stable. it is worth noting the frequent simplifying generalisation of the situation and context of Muslim people and the Islamic religion. It was observed that Islam tended to be presented as a single, homogenous entity, ignoring its diversity and the individuality of each of the members of this religion

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.