Framing Conflict: A Review of Media Representation during the 2025 Pakistan-India War

Abstract

This paper investigates the way media discussed the 2025 Pakistan-India war using both Hall’s Media and Representation Theory and Framing Theory. It looks at how a range of media, including social networking apps, helped people form perceptions, spread stories and encouraged reactions from politicians and citizens. The paper analyzes how media reports the two major military operations known as Operation Sindoor by India and Operation Bunyan al-Marsus by Pakistan. Results suggest that both traditional and digital media strongly affected the rise of nationalism, formed enemy images and played a key part in the way countries related to one another.