Constructing undesirables: A critical discourse analysis of othering of Fulani nomads in the Ghanaian news media

Abstract

The activities of Fulani nomads in Ghana have gained considerable media attention and engendered continuing public debate. In this paper, we analyze the prejudiced portrayals of the nomads in the Ghanaian news media, and how these contribute to an exclusionist and a discriminatory discourse that puts the nomads at the margins of Ghanaian society. The study employs a critical discourse analysis framework and draws on a dataset of 160 articles, including news stories, editorials and op-ed pieces. The analysis reveals that the nomads are discursively constructed as undesirables through an othering process that centers on three discourses: a discourse of dangerousness/criminalization, a discourse of alienization, and a discourse of stigmatization. This anti-nomad/Fulani rhetoric is evident in the choice of sensational headlines, alarmist news content, organization of arguments, and use of quotations. The paper concludes with a call for more balanced and critical news reporting on the nomads, especially since issues surrounding them border on national cohesion and security.

Marginality and otherness: the discursive construction of LGBT issues/people in the Ghanaian news media

“…By discussing how and why the media frame LGBT issues in the way they do and thereby contributing to the (re)production of prejudiced discourses and the maintenance of discriminatory social relations, it will be possible to make recommendations for more balanced news reporting on oppressed groups in general and LGBT people in particular. As Nartey and Ladegaard (2021) note, the devaluation and dehumanization of oppressed groups are often accomplished through text and talk; hence, it is important for discursive work to continue to be at the forefront of communication and media studies. This paper thus contributes to the body of work on the role of the media in shaping attitudes, especially toward non-dominant groups, in a context underexplored in the literature.…”

“…Voicing prejudice and demeaning discourses about social out-groups, including LGBT people, gypsies, refugees, and trafficked sex workers, leads to their depersonalization and devaluation (Nartey and Ladegaard, 2021). The denial of their humanity sculpts them in the image of non-entities, expendables, and as socially disruptive.…”

Invaders, Attackers and Destroyers: Trespassing-related Terms and Representations in Nigerian Newspaper Headlines

“…Despite this ample research, there is a paucity of critical discourse studies in the African context, even though discourses on especially conflict are predominant in the media given the violence-prone nature of the Africa continent (Aremu, 2010). Scholars such as Chiluwa and Chiluwa (2020) and Nartey and Ladegaard (2021) have examined media reports on herders-farmers conflict in Nigeria and Ghana, respectively, but do not focus on representations bordering on ownership of and trespassing on grazing and farming area.…”

“…Media representations tend to exhibit prejudice against the nomads (Nartey & Ladegaard, 2021). According to Nartey and Ladegaard (2021), media selective reporting of violent incidents through sensational headlines, alarmist news contents and bias quotations projects the Fulani herdsmen group as the "undesirables" in Ghana.…”

“…Media representations tend to exhibit prejudice against the nomads (Nartey & Ladegaard, 2021). According to Nartey and Ladegaard (2021), media selective reporting of violent incidents through sensational headlines, alarmist news contents and bias quotations projects the Fulani herdsmen group as the "undesirables" in Ghana. In the same vein, Chiluwa and Chiluwa (2020) submit that the conscious language choices of the Nigerian media, such as "attack" instead of "clash" in representing violent actions of the conflict portray the violence as one-sided as well as constructing the herders as a violent group.…”