Peace journalism in 140 characters: A qualitative analysis of the use of Twitter by Israel and Palestine news sources during Operation Brother’s Keeper

This study examined the use of Twitter as a means of message dispersion during Operation Brother’s Keeper, the 2014 Israel Defense Forces’ engagement that was the prelude to the larger conflict Operation Protective Edge. Specifically, the question at the center of this research was whether or not the news sources from either side of the conflict use the social media platform to leverage messages that were framed in terms of Norwegian sociologist and peace researcher Johan Galtung’s peace journalism, as described by Annabel Lynch and Jake McGoldrick in their book Peace Journalism (2005). Using qualitative research methods, this body of research examined the use of the principles of peace journalism via Twitter by six sources (three from each side of the conflict) during the entirety of the Israel Defense Force’s Operation Brother’s Keeper. The results of this research indicated a lack of peace journalism reporting styles with tendencies of war journalism being more prevalent