Verbal horror and slaughterhouse imagery in media representation of herdsmen violence

Abstract

Nigerian media reports on herdsmen’s violence present dehumanised images of a slaughterhouse in which farmers are represented as animals being slaughtered by herders. Using a critical discourse analysis and appraisal framework, with a focus on the systems of attitude and graduation, this paper critically examines media representation of herdsmen’s violence as “butchering” in the form of carnism. Analysis reveals that carnist representation is reinforced through death-dealing socio-cognitive labelling, attitudinal lexicalisation and strands of carnism. Also, using attitude and graduation resources, a one-directional and horrific image is painted. The study concludes that the creation as well as consumption of such scary news cultivates cognitive prejudices and stereotypes.

Ideology and cognitive stereotypes in media representation of the Russia–Ukraine conflict

“…There are conscious efforts to demonize opponents with the use of verbs and adjectives that connote violence, which further exacerbates the already tense situation. These pro-war rhetorics resonate with Chiluwa and Chiluwa (2020) and Igwebuike’s (2021) examinations of the activities of herdsmen, Boko Haram and farmers in north-central and southern Nigeria using some evaluative linguistic resources. It also corroborates Van Dijk’s (2006b) analysis of Tony Blair’s manipulative discourse, which led to the US- and UK-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, where he employed cognitive strategies of positive self-presentation, ideological polarization, discrediting the opponents , and emotionalizing the argument .…”

“…In other words, media representations of people and their actions are linked to certain ideologies (Chiluwa, 2011). Igwebuike (2021) examines how Fulani herders’ actions or identities are evaluated by the Nigerian media. Specifically, the study explores how lexical evaluative resources that relate to the ideology of carnism (a belief that likens some forms of killing of humans to slaughtering of animals) such as ‘machete, slaughter, massacre, hack, cut, behead, butcher, slit and chop off’ are used to construct the image of a slaughterhouse.…”

“…While The Punch and The Guardian news media are from the southern parts of Nigeria, Leadership and Daily Trust are from the northern part of the country. The findings reveal that, while the media in the southern part of Nigeria used more carnism-related terms in describing the violent actions of the herdsmen, newspapers in the northern part were more conservative in their use of such terms (Igwebuike, 2021). The paper inferred that the different ways the news media from each region see and evaluate the action of the herdsmen may be associated with the age-long North–South divide in terms of religious and ethnic tensions.…”

“…Therefore, from a socio-cognitive perspective, ideology can be seen as a special kind of social belief systems that are socially shared by the members of specific social groups, or ideological communities (Van Dijk, 2006a: 729). When exploring data with a CDA analytical approach, the emphasis is on language structures, discourse strategies, and ideologies that underlie the representation of people (Igwebuike, 2021; Mazid, 2014).…”

“…Such a conflict situation is somehow reinforced and sometimes further exacerbated by media reportage of events and their actors. The media can have a large influence on consumers of news text as their contents present stereotypical descriptions of people, especially in conflict situations (Igwebuike, 2021). They can also be used as a tool to install hegemony over a group of people by appealing to their logic or common sense, thereby subtly shaping the opinions and attitudes of consumers of such news items.…”