Immigration, stereotypes, and social security: The portrayal of migrant groups in public discourse

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the presentation of migrant groups in public discourse, which sheds light on the security-related implications of immigration. In particular, the purpose of the paper is to analyze public discourse on migration to Poland. Qualitative analysis based on a corpus of news reports and online comments on migrant groups in Poland shows that the media coverage of migrant groups focuses on social conflicts and the migrant crisis. Close examination of online comments reveals that regardless of the tone and topic of the article, users’ comments posted below the articles are biased, outright and based on repetitive generalisations. Despite few positive reactions, a great degree of intolerance and discrimination has been manifested in public discourse and antagonistic feelings between the minority and majority groups have been identified. Portraying others in a negative way tends to arouse prejudice as well as discriminatory behaviours; thus, it may be concluded that that negative stereotypes are deeply rooted in Polish society and are likely to bring about negative expectations towards various ethnic groups.