The Construction of Syrian Refugees in Two Lebanese Media Campaigns: “If You Love Lebanon, Employ the Lebanese” And “Safe Return to Syria; the Situation in Lebanon is No Longer Tolerable”

Lebanon, hosting more than one million Syrian refugees since 2011, has witnessed an intensification of media campaigns and political discourse that construct refugees as a threat to national stability. This paper examines the ways in which Syrian refugees are represented in two prominent Lebanese media campaigns: “Safe Return to Syria; the Situation in Lebanon is No Longer Tolerable” and “If You Love Lebanon, Employ the Lebanese.” Drawing on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1978; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), National Identity Theory (Smith, 1991, 1992), and van Dijk’s Ideological Square (2006a, 2006b, 2007), alongside the discourse-analytical tools of de Cillia et al. (1999) and Wodak et al. (2009), the study investigates how Lebanese media employ strategies of in-group favoritism, out-group derogation, and national singularity to portray Syrians as unwelcome outsiders. The methodology adopts a critical discourse analysis of campaign posters, television broadcasts, and news reports disseminated between 2018 and 2019. Textual and visual data were collected from online sources and examined for linguistic and semiotic markers of social categorization, identification, and comparison. Findings reveal that Lebanese campaigns consistently depict Syrians as demographic, economic, and cultural burdens, while positioning Lebanese citizens as patriotic victims safeguarding their homeland. Particular emphasis is placed on representations of Syrian refugees as threats to employment, education, public health, and demographic balance. Importantly, the analysis also incorporates counter-discourse from Syrian media and cultural productions, which portray Lebanese elites as racist oppressors and reframe Syrians as resilient contributors and victims of exploitation. This reciprocal pattern of labeling illustrates how polarization is dialogical and mutually reinforcing rather than one-sided. The study concludes that the construction of Syrian refugees in Lebanese media cannot be fully understood without considering the counter-narratives that emerge from Syrian media. By highlighting the interdependence of these discourses, the paper demonstrates how refugee representation is shaped through cycles of mutual victimization and national identity defense, perpetuating enmity and undermining prospects for solidarity.