CRIMEA IN MEDIA OF EUROPEANAND MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES.RESULTS OF MONITORING MEDIAHITS OF CRIMEA

The Crimean human rights group, together with the LOOQME media monitoring platform, analyzed how Crimea was mentioned in the media of European and Middle Eastern countries during May 2023 – May 2024.

The sample of European countries included Germany, Romania, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland, France, and Sweden.

To the countries of the Middle East – Kuwait, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia.

The purpose of the study was to find out which narratives are common in publications about Crimea, how the attention to certain topics changed over time, which persons are mentioned most often in publications related to Crimea. In addition, it was important to find out how the media determine the peninsula’s belonging – to which state it belongs, and what is the role of Crimea in the publications where it is mentioned: whether it is the main topic or secondary.

The results of the analysis show that there was a lot of attention to Crimea among the European media (229.4 thousand publications during the analyzed period), but most of it was in the news context of hostilities. Even in those countries where Ukraine has strong political support, there is an influence of pro-Russian narratives.

Among the analyzed European countries, the most publications were recorded in Germany, Romania and Poland, and the least in Sweden. The peak periods of recall fell on July 17 and 19 due to the attack on the Crimean bridge, threats from Russia and the breakdown of the grain agreement. Crimea is mostly mentioned episodically in the European media. The main narratives: attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine on military targets in Crimea, attempts to return it, militarization of the peninsula by Russia. European media mainly adheres to the pro-Ukrainian position regarding Crimea: the most in Sweden, Poland, and Romania (although Romania also has a high percentage of pro-Russian media materials). The pro-Russian position prevails in the media of Italy and the Netherlands. Crimean Tatars are rarely mentioned in European sources (up to 3% of the total population). The most frequently quoted persons in the context of publications about Crimea are Putin (12.3%), Volodymyr Zelenskyi (10%), Joe Biden (2.6%).

The media of Arab countries are less active in the topic of Crimea, as well as Ukraine in general – 2.2 thousand publications. The leaders in terms of mentions are Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The peak of mentions fell on August 2023. The main narratives: attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine on military targets in Crimea, attempts to liberate it, militarization of the peninsula by Russia. The reports are dominated by the pro-Russian position regarding the annexation of Crimea (more than a third of the texts, mostly in the mass media of Kuwait and Lebanon). The mass media often mention Ukrainian drone attacks or missile strikes aimed at “Crimea” or the “Crimea Peninsula”, without specifying that this is a sovereign territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia. The sources mention the bridge connecting Crimea with Russia as part of Russian territory, talk about Russia shooting down Ukrainian drones and missiles “over Crimea” or “in the direction of Crimea.” Such uncertainty creates the impression that Crimea is part of Russia.

However, in Arab countries, Crimean Tatars are mentioned in percentage terms more often than in European media (5.4%). Among the general mentions of the media field, a narrative stands out where the Crimean Tatars are positioned as the indigenous people of Crimea. Among other narratives, the share of the latter is almost 3%. The texts hardly mention the repression of the Crimean Tatars on the peninsula and their support by Arab countries. Volodymyr Zelenskyi (7%), Putin (6.7%), Joe Biden (2.7%) are the most frequently quoted persons.

Unfortunately, such important topics as the 10th anniversary of the occupation of Crimea or the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People were hardly covered in the media during the analyzed period. This emphasizes the need not only to increase the number of publications about Crimea, but also to ensure that key messages important for the future deoccupation of Crimea are heard in foreign media.

You can find out more about the methodology and the full results of the study at this link.