Wartime Media Dynamics in Emerging Democracies: Case Study of Pakistani Media in May 2025 Indo-Pak Conflict
This highlights how conflict can marginalize democratic discourse in emerging democracies, emphasizing the need to protect press freedom in volatile regions.
The study analyzed how the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict affected Pakistani media coverage, finding that war-related reporting overshadowed political opposition and dissent in 2,600 news articles from major newspapers.
Democracies rely on opposition and dissent to function, but in emerging democracies, freedom of speech is often restricted. This effect intensifies during regional conflicts. This study examines how the India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025 influenced Pakistani media coverage. Analyzing approximately 2,600 news articles from three major newspapers using a large language model (LLM), the study found that war-related reporting significantly overshadowed coverage of political opposition and dissent. These findings highlight how conflict can marginalize democratic discourse, reinforcing the need to safeguard press freedom in volatile regions.