Unveiling Power Dynamics: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Cybercrimes News Reporting in Pakistani Print Media

Maryam  Israr; Javeria  Memon; Hira  Saleem

doi:10.63056/academia.5.2(a).2026.1766

Authors

Maryam Israr M.Phil Scholar (English Linguistics), Iqra University Karachi, Pakistan Author
Javeria Memon M.Phil Scholar (English Linguistics), Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Pakistan Author
Hira Saleem Assistant Professor in English at GGDC, Sanghar, Sindh, Pakistan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63056/academia.5.2(a).2026.1766

Keywords:

Cybercrime, Pakistani Print Media, Newspaper, CDA, Socio-Cognitive, Van Dijk Model

Abstract

Cybercrime is a worldwide illegal human activity. It is not limited to a specific boundary or border. It is a new kind of threat to challenge all legal authorities, enforcement agencies, and governments to curb it completely within and outside boundaries. The present study aims to analyze the cybercrime news reports published in Pakistani print media. It investigates cybercrime news stories in the context of textual, cognitive, and social critical perspectives through Van Dijk’s CDA model 2005. Van Dijk’s Model was an attempt to analyze the structure of the news, its production, consumption, and presentation in two Pakistani English Newspapers Dawn and The Express Tribune. Data compiled of Cybercrime news stories from January 01, 2023, to 31 December 2023, and analyzed using Van Dijk’s CDA model: textual, Socio-Cognitive, and social context. The researcher purposively selected four (4) cybercrime news stories. The research revealed that the Cybercrime stories published in Pakistani Print Media are manipulated for ideological, cultural, and social interests. In different crime news stories, the reporters deliberately utilized the structure of the news story for specific ideological and social purposes. This study will help reporters and editors avoid such prejudices, biases, and manipulation.