Audience Trolling and News Framing on X: A Comparative Analysis of BBC and Al Jazeera Coverage of the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Abstract

This study investigates how social media affordances enable audience engagement with, and contestation of, media representations of conflict, focusing on trolling as a form of discursive response. Trolling is operationalised as antagonistic, sarcastic, or provocative user comments that challenge, mock, or delegitimise media narratives and actors. Using systematic sampling, 61 posts from each of BBC and Al Jazeera and 1,220 associated comments (610 per outlet) were collected from their X handles between October 7, 2023, and April 7, 2024. A quantitative content analysis, guided by framing theory, was deployed to examine audience responses to media coverage of the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Findings indicate that both outlets predominantly employed victim, human interest, and conflict frames. Audience responses revealed that netizens’ sentiments towards the media organisations and warring parties were closely associated with patterns of trolling, especially through sarcasm, ridicule, and counter-framing strategies. In visual framing, Al Jazeera more frequently used emotionally evocative imagery, whereas BBC employed relatively neutral visuals. The study concludes that audience interactions on X reflect a complex relationship between institutional framing and participatory digital discourse, with trolling serving as a form of emotional and ideological engagement. It recommends that media professionals adopt reflective, context-aware framing strategies in highly interactive digital environments.