Unaccompanied child refugees in media : – A discourse analysis of the portrayal of unaccompanied child refugees Aftonbladet & Expressen.

The study aimed to investigate the characterization of unaccompanied child refuges in two of Sweden’s leading newspapers by analyzing the rhetoric used in publications. The empirical material was collected from Aftonbladet and Expresses’s databases and was limited to 50 electronically published leaders, debate and news articles for the period of September 2015 up to February 2016. The empirical analysis was based on Norman Fairclough’s interpretation of critical discourse analysis, CDA and the theoretical discourse concept of power, knowledge and stigma. The result of the study showed two recurring themes within the discourse of unaccompanied child refugees titled “victim” and “prisoner”. Description within the themes portrayed the children as exposed, affected and involuntary addicts as well as criminal, violent and threatening. The portrayal of the children effected human perception, attitudes and actions toward the group. Media is described to have an undeniable impact on the creation of human perceptions, believes and attitudes. By doing so, the portrayal of children as perpetrators can have a negative impact on human processes, which however can be altered by nuances given to the subject by the portrayal of the children as victims