Mob Violence in Pakistan: A Discursive Socio-Cognitive Critical Discourse Analysis of Media Narratives

This study examined media narratives in Pakistan in the context of mob violence. The study aimed to investigate the effects of linguistic patterns, discourse production, and hidden motives behind media narratives on mob violence. The study analysed the language use, organisation of the texts, and the concealed ideologies that underpin the portrayal of social actions and laws related to mob violence. Drawing on media (print and online editions) from primary mainstream sources, the study examined vocabulary, syntax, and themes were employed to reflect such social actors and events. This qualitative research also examined how these portrayals contribute to the preservation of power relations, in-group/out-group ideologies, and cognitive structures that justify or question the crowd's acts of violence. Van Dijk's Socio-Cognitive Model in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) had been utilised in three cases including the lynching of Mashal Khan in 2017, the murder of Priyantha Kumara in 2021, and the 2023 Jaranwala attacks targeting the Christian community. The significant findings revealed the prevailing religious and political ideologies that stigmatise the victims and perpetrators in many ways, leading to the stratification of social order and persistent moral panic. This study suggested immediate necessity of an ethical press, inclusive media practices, and a critical media pedagogy in media education, which can help remove the roots of discriminatory discourses. References Al Jazeera. (2023, August 16). Mobs burn Christian churches and homes in Pakistan after blasphemy allegations. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/16/angry-mobs-burn-christian-churches-in-pakistan-after-blasphemy-allegations Althusser, L. (1971). Ideology and ideological state apparatuses. 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