News media significantly influences knowledge dissemination, values, and perspectives, shaping event narratives to align with societal norms and ideologies. However, this power can lead to misinterpretations and polarization. Headlines, particularly in the fast-paced online environment, are crucial journalistic elements. Their linguistic structures vary across languages and cultures, influenced by social and political perceptions of events. Ideology plays a central role in conflicts, deeply intertwined with media coverage. Van Dijk's work highlights how ideology, encompassing fundamental beliefs, shapes shared beliefs within social groups and influences discursive practices. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a long-standing struggle for self-determination, provides a significant context for examining media framing. The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11, 2022, serves as a case study to analyze how the act of killing, the victim, and the perpetrator were portrayed in Arabic and English headlines. This study utilizes Van Dijk's socio-cognitive framework to analyze both the microstructure (linguistic features) and macrostructure (broader discourse) of headlines, seeking to understand the linguistic selections, identity construction, and cognitive framing of the event.

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), with contributions from Fairclough, Wodak, and Van Dijk, explores the relationship between language in news media and power dynamics. Studies have examined ideological manipulation in headlines, focusing on rhetorical devices and cross-cultural variations. Constantinou (2024) analyzed the reframing of Macron's controversial statement across English and Greek media. Bonyadi and Samuel (2013) compared rhetorical devices in The New York Times and Tehran Times headlines. Haider and Hussein (2020) analyzed the portrayal of Muammar Qaddafi in English and Arabic headlines. Tymbay (2022) compared discrepancies between headlines and articles in Western and Russian media. Dragaš (2012) used a monolingual CDA approach to analyze gender representation in US news headlines. Lombardi (2018) analyzed headlines on the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Haider and Olimy (2019) studied the portrayal of refugees in Jordanian media. Al-Abbas and Haider (2021) examined the representation of homosexuality in Arabic news media. Hassan (2018) studied ideological constructions in Pakistani news headlines and their impact on viewers. Torkington and Ribeiro (2019) analyzed the labeling of immigrants in Portuguese news headlines. Al-Zaman (2023) investigated the presentation of rape issues in Bangladeshi news headlines. While previous research has analyzed linguistic and rhetorical devices, this study focuses on the cognitive impact of linguistic choices on the audience's perception.

This study employed Van Dijk's (2009) socio-cognitive approach to CDA, analyzing a corpus of 100 Arabic and 100 English news headlines about the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh from May 11, 2022, to September 2022. Headlines were collected from various online news outlets using targeted Google searches. Data analysis was conducted at two levels: microlinguistic and macrolinguistic. The microlinguistic analysis examined syntactic structures (active/passive voice, nominalization), lexical choices (terms describing the act of killing, Abu Akleh, and the perpetrator), and rhetorical devices (numeration, litotes, metaphors, sarcasm). The macrolinguistic analysis focused on the headlines' function within broader social structures and institutions, considering the cognitive interplay between news outlets and their target audiences. Van Dijk's concepts of mental models and context models were used to understand how headlines shape audience perception and interpretation. The study aimed to answer three research questions: 1) What linguistic selections are revealed in the microstructural analysis of Arabic and English headlines? 2) What identities are constructed for the victim and perpetrator through lexical choices? 3) How does the macrostructure analysis cognitively frame the interpretation and perception of the news, particularly concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

The microlinguistic analysis revealed significant differences between Arabic and English headlines. Arabic headlines frequently used declarative verbal sentences (58%) and declarative nominalized sentences (36%), while English headlines primarily used declarative verbal sentences (93%). Arabic headlines frequently used active voice to emphasize agency, while English headlines frequently employed passive voice to downplay agency or obfuscate the perpetrator's identity. The analysis of lexical choices showed that both Arabic and English headlines predominantly used the term 'killing' to describe the act. However, Arabic headlines also frequently used terms like 'assassination' and 'martyrdom,' reflecting a different framing of the event. In describing Abu Akleh, Arabic headlines emphasized her Palestinian identity, while English headlines often mentioned her dual American and Palestinian nationality. Regarding the perpetrator, Arabic headlines clearly identified Israeli forces as the responsible party, while English headlines used more ambiguous terms, often omitting direct attribution. Rhetorical devices also differed. Arabic headlines frequently used numeration, emphatic descriptions, metaphors, and sarcasm, while English headlines favored litotes to create ambiguity and uncertainty. The macrostructure analysis, informed by Van Dijk's socio-cognitive approach, showed how linguistic choices shaped audience perception. Arabic headlines constructed a narrative emphasizing the intentional nature of the killing and aligning with a pro-Palestinian perspective, while English headlines created ambiguity and uncertainty, potentially downplaying Israeli responsibility. This reflected differing mental and context models shaping interpretations within the two linguistic and cultural contexts.

The findings highlight the significant role of linguistic choices in shaping audience understanding and opinion regarding the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. The contrast between Arabic and English headlines demonstrates how news media outlets can use language strategically to promote specific ideological viewpoints. The preference for active versus passive voice, the choice of lexical items, and the use of specific rhetorical devices all contributed to framing the event differently. The analysis demonstrates how these linguistic choices tap into the audience's cognitive processes, influencing their mental models and interpretation of the event within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The study contributes to understanding the complex interplay between language, ideology, and power in news media, particularly within conflict zones. The findings underscore the importance of critical media literacy in interpreting news, particularly in situations where differing ideological perspectives are present.

This study reveals how linguistic choices in news headlines significantly shape public understanding and perception of events, particularly in politically charged contexts like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The divergence in linguistic choices between Arabic and English headlines concerning the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh demonstrates the power of language to frame narratives and influence opinion. Future research could explore the impact of these different framings on public attitudes and behaviors, examining the longer-term effects of media representation on political polarization and conflict resolution.

The study was limited by the size of the corpus (200 headlines) collected during a specific period, potentially affecting the generalizability of the findings. The qualitative nature of the analysis also restricts the quantitative measurement of certain linguistic elements. Furthermore, the study focused solely on headlines, not considering the full news articles, which might provide further context and nuance.