How can the UK press develop the way they discuss migrants?
Historically, the UK tabloid press has not always represented asylum seekers in a kind light, with The Daily Mail being used as an example for its "century-long quest to demonize migrants".
Of course, this issue is not exclusive to the Mail- newspapers as a whole have been criticized for their "racism and historical amnesia" about migration.
However, people are campaigning to change the narrative.
Anne Stoltenberg, Head of Development at Migrant Voice, said of the charity, "We are a diverse group of migrants coming together and saying, 'well, everyone is talking about migrants and migration, and looking at how it was portrayed in the media.
"We were thinking, well, that doesn't represent me, my life; my story, it's not my reality that they're talking about.
"I'm either missing or misrepresented in this."
Migrant Voice is an organization that campaigns for the rights of migrants across the UK, through training journalists, mobilizing people within the community, and speaking out against injustice and misrepresentation.
They have a particular focus on the way the press speaks about migration, and are aiming to develop the conversation about this community by speaking to the media as directly as possible.
Many have been calling for newspapers to centre the voices of those who are affected by migration, rather than making the issue overtly sensationalised or political.
This is not a new phenomenon, with "the voices and experiences of migrants appearing in just 8%-12% of migration stories in the print press" according to a report from Statewatch.
As well as the lack of 'lived experiences' in articles, some have raised issues with the more subtle uses of language in newspapers, creating divisions through the construction of phrases and imagery.
Academics argue there is a very definite sense of "us versus them" when the topic of migration is discussed, citing articles where "refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and migrants are often framed as ‘dangerous criminals’ and articles suggesting ‘that Britain is under attack from migrants."
These constructions, "othering migrants as threats" may contribute to ideas that migrants are not welcome in the UK, reinforcing negative stereotypes and creating hostility.
"At the time [Migrant Voice] was set up, it was very much the discussion that there's an emergency because migrants are here in some way, that their presence is unwanted," Anne said.
"When you want to do a story about women's rights, you don't just speak to men. If you want to speak about senior citizens, you don't talk to young people. You've got to speak to people affected by the story."
Not every newspaper, tabloid or otherwise, publishes negative stories about migration or migrants themselves.
However, there is sometimes a disconnect between a good migration story and a negative one - and it often comes down to where the newspaper chooses to publish it.
"I think you have these nice stories out there about people who happen to be born somewhere else, but they're in the section of food or sports or something else, and that's it.
"Unless it's in the section about migration, then you just skew the debate towards this very Exceptional type of story of extreme suffering, and struggle," Anne explained.
The British public is aware of the conversation about migrants in the press, with many believing the representation of this community is not positive.
A YouGov poll from 2021 revealed nearly 60% (57%) of Brits think that the press reports migrants "negatively and inaccurately", with only 8% saying the coverage is positive overall.
Anne believes that some of the issues surrounding migration in the press come from seeing the individual as just a migrant, or a product of their struggles, rather than as a person in their own right.
"It is often like, 'Oh, you're a victim,' but I am a lot of other things as well," she explained.
The media has been proven to "significantly shape people's beliefs, opinions and actions", and research shows "an individual’s perceptions can be influenced by the extent of their exposure to a particular subject."
"We've been doing a lot of media training with journalists, speaking to students, to try to influence this journalism," Anne explained.
So, due to the extensive influence of the press, there is a possibility that the negative coverage of migrants can be linked to abuse, hostility, and sometimes even hate crimes.
"People do translate those stories into 'okay, let me shout at the person, or be nasty, or very rarely, physically attack them," Anne said.
This can mean, that despite the importance of lived experience in stories, some migrants are fearful of the repercussions of speaking to the press, while others try to change the narrative themselves.
"In some cases, for some people, it is that thing of hiding or not wanting to speak out.
"And for some, it's been well, 'I want to do something about it, I want to tell my story, what it's really like," Anne said.
"We all know how we want to be seen," Anne added, "I think a lot of people feel like it's a journalist, a journalist has power, and... we have to be careful about what we say.
"Many people think there are traps, so, as a journalist, centre the person with lived experience, that's the number one [thing]."
However, sharing the stories of migrants is not just dependent on someone from the community speaking to a journalist, in fact, the writer has just as much of a responsibility to reach out and create these connections themselves.
"When you want to do a story about women's rights, you don't just speak to men. If you want to speak about senior citizens, you don't talk to children. You've got to speak to people affected by the story," Anne explained.
"I think that you do have these nice stories out there about people who happen to be born somewhere else, but they're in the section of food or sports or something else, and that's it. Unless it's in the section about migration, then you just skew the debate towards this very Exceptional type of story of extreme suffering, and struggle."
Journalists have the responsibility to present stories that are factual, accurate, and truthful, as it allows the audience to trust them more.
With stories on migration, the pieces that do not demonize or sensationalize the individual are the strongest ones, according to Anne.
"I think we all know when we see an article that we think is great, it's well-researched, nuanced, it's got voices from people who are directly affected by the issue," she said.
"A lot of journalists don't get [good] feedback like that," she added, "and a lot of times they need that, to be able to go to their editors and say 'our readers like this'."
"You still have publications that are hostile towards migrants, but you will find something nice and personal, and they deal with it right, and they will write something positive about an individual that is accurate, sensitively written and on their terms," Anne added.
"We should not forget that those stories are important."
The readers may be an often overlooked piece in the puzzle to change the narrative towards more positive coverage of migration.
While the media pushes an agenda with the type of content they publish, the consumer has the power to either accept what they read as fact, and perhaps integrate these opinions into their daily lives and behaviours, or to question what they read.
In a blog post titled "Media Literacy: The Reader's Responsibility", the author urges consumers to understand that "everything is biased".
"When you consume news media, no matter the source, you are not merely being fed a string of informative facts but also a chosen frame through which to interpret those facts," she writes.
As "algorithms become more sophisticated" a certain type of responsibility falls on the audience to understand that, "even with the best intentions, users may run into problems."
"I think now, [stories are] a lot more nuanced, we're a lot more aware of the subtleties of language and how we read it," Anne said.
In terms of the newspapers themselves, the inclusion of lived experiences may offer more authentic reporting and remove some of the stereotypes around particular issues, but it is unlikely that just this will change the entire narrative around migration in the UK tabloid press.
However, having open conversations in the media as journalists and consumers, and understanding the bias and agenda of publications may be the first steps in curating a more diverse reporting atmosphere.
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