Armed conflicts and media coverage: Supervised machine learning approach

Abstract

The media coverage of armed conflicts tends to focus on the attribution of responsibilities and the humanitarian or security frames, as the main studies about media and conflicts have asserted. The present research analyzes the frames used in media outlets such as El Mundo and El País (Spain), HispanTV (Iran) and RT (Russia), in their coverage of wars in Yemen and Ukraine. Through innovative and machine learning techniques (particularly, SVM), the authors demonstrate that RT and HispanTV do not follow the traditional routines of mass media, and that the use of frames rely more on the geostrategic position of their countries of origin.