The Media Image of the Gaza Conflict in Serious and Disinformation Media in 2023

This bachelor thesis analyses the media coverage of the armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in October 2023 in the Czech online media. The aim is to identify the key themes and frames of meaning that have shaped the media portrayal of this conflict and to compare their occurrence and nature between serious news media and media described as disinformation. The research focuses on content published on the news websites Czech Television and Seznam Zpravy, which represent credible journalism, and on the alternative websites AC24 and Parlamentní Listy, known for their problematic approach to verifying information. The thesis uses the theoretical concepts of agenda-setting and framing and combines qualitative and quantitative content analysis of 152 articles published between 7 and 14 October 2023. The results show that serious media outlets took a mostly factual and diverse approach to the topic, while disinformation websites more often used ideologically loaded and emotionally tinged language. Most media interpreted the conflict through the so-called war framework and the pro-Israel law and order framework, with the peace and pro-Palestinian frameworks less represented. The research also highlights differences in thematic selection, editorial practice and source handling. The findings further illustrate how the Gaza conflict has become the subject of competing media narratives.