The Impact of the Media on International Conflicts: From Traditional Journalism to Social Media

Abstract

This paper examines the evolving role of media in international conflicts, tracing the shift from traditional journalism and television broadcasting to social media and digital platforms. Drawing on the Vietnam War, the Tunisian Revolution, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the 2025 Nepal Generation Z protests, it explores how different media forms have shaped public perception, political mobilization and the framing of conflict narratives. The paper engages with the ‘CNN Effect’ and ‘Manufacturing Consent’ theory, arguing that rather than functioning as competing explanations, the two frameworks can operate simultaneously within a contemporary media landscape shaped by both grassroots visibility and institutional influence. These theoretical and case-study analyses are supplemented by an original survey of 100 adolescent respondents examining youth media consumption, trust in different source types, the influence of repetition and framing, and growing concern over AI-generated misinformation. The findings suggest that contemporary audiences function as networked participants who both consume and circulate information, often encountering conflict-related content through platforms they do not fully trust while still being influenced by repeated exposure and narrative framing. The paper concludes by identifying the limitations of the study and proposing directions for future research into algorithmic curation, generative AI and media literacy in shaping how international conflicts are understood.