The representation of sub-Saharan African migrants in the Tunisian written media: a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis.

While the topic of migrant representation in media discourse has been extensively researched, a significant portion of scholarly attention is concentrated on Western media. This focus leaves a considerable gap in the study of media representations in transitional countries, particularly North African nations like Tunisia. This topic assumes greater significance in light of the recent surge in xenophobia towards sub-Saharan African migrants in the country – a movement partly instigated by President Kais Saied's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Utilising Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper examines the discursive representations of sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisian written media discourse, focusing on the 2022 and 2023 anti-migrant wave in Tunisia under the presidency of Kais Saied. The research findings reveal that while a glimpse of a humanitarian discourse was evident, the majority of the discourse was characterised either by biased neutrality or explicit prejudice. The research indicates a predominantly negative representation, categorising migrants as invaders, security threats, economic burdens, and moral hazards. Significantly, much of the discourse echoes the political anti-immigrant policy, suggesting a potential media alignment with the emerging authoritarian tendencies in Tunisia. This alignment harbours damaging implications for the safety and well-being of the migrant community, as well as for the overall human rights and democratisation process in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]