Selective Resonance? The Framing of Racist Violence in Media Debates and Protest Mobilization

Consensus and Conflict Department

Project head: Dr. Elias Steinhilper

Project team members: Dr. Nader Hotait,  Tom Runge

Running time May 2025 until April 2027
Status Current project

Anti-racist protest in recent years has contributed to an increased media visibility of, and political engagement with, racism in Germany. Such protests have often responded to racist violence domestically and abroad, albeit to varying degrees. Against this backdrop, the project conducts a comparative analysis of the conditions under which racist violence becomes a topic in the media and the role protest plays in this process. The focus is on fatal racist violence. The project employs a mixed-methods design that combines quantitative content analyses based on the NaDiRa and FoDiRa media corpora, as well as original social-media data, with a systematic qualitative case comparison.

Guiding research questions

To what extent is racist violence resulting in death addressed in local, national, and social media in Germany? To what extent does anti-racist mobilization respond to such events?
Which factors explain variation in the scale and form of media coverage and civil-society mobilization?
What is the reciprocal relationship between civil-society mobilization and the scope and nature of media attention to racist violence?
What similarities and differences exist in media coverage of racist violence across print and social media? How are these related to the form and extent of civil-society mobilization?
The project examines the conditions under which racist violence triggers broad public debate — and when visibility remains limited.
Dr. Elias Steinhilper, Co-Head of Consensus & Conflict Department

The project investigates the conditions under which racist violence in Germany becomes visible in the media and the role anti-racist protests play in shaping this visibility. It integrates quantitative content analyses based on local and national newspaper corpora and social-media data with a systematic qualitative case comparison. At its core lies the interplay between media coverage, civil-society mobilization, and the dynamics of hybrid publics. By contrasting traditional print media with social-media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, the project reveals different resonance spaces and discursive processes. Building on extensive prior research at DeZIM on the 2020 Black Lives Matter mobilization and racism-related public debates, it makes a theoretical and methodological contribution by linking communication, social-movement, and racism research.

Existing research typically analyzes racism-related media debates and protest dynamics separately, overlooking their mutual effects. Moreover, there is a lack of systematic investigation of social media as distinct resonance spaces for racist violence in the German context. The project addresses these gaps through an integrated mixed-methods design.

  • Identify patterns and explanatory factors of media resonance on racist violence.
  • Empirically examine the reciprocal relationship between media coverage and anti-racist mobilization.
  • Analyse differences between traditional and digital publics.
  • Discuss findings with actors from journalism, politics, and affected communities to derive practice-oriented recommendations.

Methodologically, the project combines a quantitative content analysis of national and local newspapers with social media posts (TikTok, YouTube) and a qualitative case comparison. 171 documented cases are analyzed in terms of media visibility, framing, and protest mobilization. Complementary interviews with journalists and civil society actors provide deeper insights into the mechanisms shaping the (in)visibility of racist violence in public debates.

Funding: Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Institutional funding)