Whose Story Won? Public Diplomacy and International News Coverage of the 2010 Gaza Flotilla/Mavi Marmara Raid

Abstract:

This article examines international news coverage of the Gaza Flotilla and the Israeli raid on the ship Mavi Marmara in May 2010, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish citizens and created a long-lasting cooling of relations between Turkey and Israel. The two countries had different interpretations of what the flotilla represented and what happened during the raid, and used all the might of their respective public diplomacy apparatuses to get their version of the events reported. This article looks at which country was more successful in this effort, four years into the dispute, using automated content analysis. Findings include Israel’s overwhelming success, especially in the first two years and in the media of the countries that generate most of the English-language coverage, somewhat qualified by the Turkish advantage in the media of Muslim-majority countries and gains in the last two years. Both countries enjoyed positive coverage when they initiated newsworthy events, with third-party involvement moderating the usually strong pro-Israeli slant.