Abstract

The purpose of the study was to find out how language in political discourse shaped public perceptions of migrants through media coverage and what identity-building strategies were used. To achieve this goal, a qualitative methodology based on a comparative critical discourse analysis of media materials of leading publications and digital platforms in Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom was applied during periods of acute migration challenges. The study focused on language practices, metaphors, visual codes, and methods of thematic framing, which allowed tracing how the media simultaneously reflected and transformed the public perception of migrants. The results showed that the German context was dominated by a strategy of dynamic image shift from “victim” to “threat”, a stable narrative of securitisation and criminalisation was established in Australian discourse, while the British media used a mechanism of conflict, combining different types of migration into a single negative image. Quantitative analysis of the frequency of key frames confirmed differences in national strategies and revealed a general tendency to present migration as a crisis, which reinforced the political legitimation of restrictive decisions and contributed to increased social polarisation. The results showed that the media not only reproduced political rhetoric, but also functioned as an independent actor in the process of forming the identity of migrants, creating discursive conditions for consolidating stereotypes and social ideas. The conclusions emphasised the importance of language as a tool for structuring public perception and demonstrated the need for further research on discursive mechanisms that determine the dynamics of migration representation in various socio-political contexts and their impact on public policy development

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