Legitimizing military action through statistics and discourse in the 2014 IDF assault on Gaza

Abstract

This article analyses the way statistics were used by select British and South African news outlets in the coverage of the 2014 Israeli assault on Gaza. Taking asymmetrical warfare as their primary theoretical framework, we used a content analysis and interviews with journalists to uncover specific patterns and imbalances in the coverage. Within the text of the articles, we observed the way numbers served to legitimize Israeli attacks and de-legitimize attacks from Gaza. This can partially be explained by aspects of news production. Journalists described Israeli public relations as highly attuned to news production practices on the conflict. Taken as a whole, we argue that the use of numbers in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict can be conceptualized within an asymmetrical information context. In doing so, we emphasize the need to examine text as well as production when researching this war and other conflicts.

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