Between the lines: subtle media discourse and the normalisation of anti-migrant sentiment in the run up to the United Kingdom 2024 riots

Abstract

This thesis explores how anti-migrant narratives are constructed, disseminated and normalised within British media discourse. Focusing on the interplay between language, society and power, it investigates the discursive strategies that frame migrants as deviant threats and examines how such representations shape public attitudes and policy responses. Drawing on moral panic theory, Critical Discourse Analysis and mythopoetic legitimation it illustrates how recurring myths are perpetuated. The study traces a shift from overt hate speech to more subtle, coded hostility, an area that remains comparatively underexplored in existing research. The 2024 UK riots are used as a case study to demonstrate how a culture of permissibility surrounding anti-migrant sentiment is cultivated through sustained narratives of ‘othering,’ analysed through a close reading of selected tabloids and broadsheets. This thesis critiques the limitations of UK law and press regulation in addressing such insidious forms of hate and evaluates the tension between freedom of expression and the need to protect against hate. Finally, it considers civil society initiatives, journalistic ethics and corporate responsibility as alternative approaches to mitigate discursive harm. By analysing the feedback loop between media, politics and far-right mobilisation, this thesis underscores the societal consequences of normalised hostility and calls for greater accountability and ethical responsibility in migration discourse.