Linguistic construction of human trafficking in news reports on the Jeffrey Epstein case: A critical discourse analysis

Asmaa Amjad Alwan; Qasim Abbas Dhayef

doi:10.17977/um063.v6.i1.2026.2

Authors

Asmaa Amjad Alwan University of Babylon
Qasim Abbas Dhayef University of Babylon

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17977/um063.v6.i1.2026.2

Keywords:

Human trafficking, Jeffrey Epstein Case, News reports, Critical discourse analysis, Ideology and power, Framing

Abstract

The paper addresses the concept of human trafficking as a socially constructed problem, influenced by how news reports define exploitation, represent social actors, and convey patterns of control, responsibility, and power. Based on news coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein case, the study explores how human trafficking is linguistically constructed through lexical choices and discursive strategies, and how ideological meanings are framed in the selected data. The dataset consists of three news reports, with three extracts from each, selected for their relevance to human trafficking and their publication within the 2026 timeframe. The study employs a critical discourse analysis approach at two levels. At the micro level, it examines linguistic choices and discursive strategies, while at the macro level it analyzes ideological meanings, power relations, and framing practices in the reports. The findings at the micro level show that lexical choices and discursive strategies tend to represent victims as emotionally, legally, and coercively vulnerable, while institutions and elites are depicted through language emphasizing negligence, authority, or overwhelming power. At the macro level, the reports frame human trafficking as a structural problem sustained by institutional failure, bureaucratic shortcomings, and the influence of powerful actors, while also assigning responsibility and moral judgment. The study concludes that linguistic and ideological patterns are closely interconnected in constructing human trafficking in news discourse. Overall, the analysis demonstrates that trafficking is not portrayed as an isolated crime but as a phenomenon embedded in broader social and institutional structures, highlighting the role of media language in shaping public understanding of exploitation and its underlying conditions.

References

Bales, K. (2005). Understanding global slavery: A reader. University of California Press.

Bales, K., & Trodd, Z. (2020). Modern slavery: The secret world of 27 million people. Oneworld Publications.

Brunovskis, A., & Surtees, R. (2008). Agency or illness? The conceptualization of trafficking victims’ choices and behaviors in the assistance system. Gender, Technology And Development, 12(1), 53–76.

Crane, A. (2013). Modern slavery as a management practice: Exploring the conditions and capabilities for human exploitation. Academy of Management Review, 38(1), 49–69.

Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal Of Communication, 43(4), 51–58.

Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Polity Press.

Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Longman.

Fairclough, N. (2003). Analyzing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. Routledge.

Farrell, A., & Pfeffer, R. (2014). Policing human trafficking: Cultural blinders and organizational barriers. The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science, 653(1), 46–64.

Gozdziak, E. M., & Collett, E. A. (2005). Research on human trafficking in North America: A review of literature. International Migration, 43(1–2), 99–128.

Hoyle, C., Bosworth, M., & Dempsey, M. (2011). Labelling the victims of trafficking: Exploring the borderland between rhetoric and reality. Social & Legal Studies, 20(3), 313–329.

International Labour Organization. (2017). Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage. ILO & Walk Free Foundation.

Kelly, L. (2005). “You can find anything you want”: A critical reflection on research on trafficking in persons within and into Europe. International Migration, 43(1–2), 235–265.

Keating, S. (2020). Trafficked: Inside the exploitation of vulnerable girls. Oxford University Press.

Latonero, M. (2011). Human trafficking online: The role of social networking sites and online classifieds. University of Southern California.

Machin, D., & Mayr, A. (2012). How to do critical discourse analysis: a multimodal introduction. SAGE.

Musto, J. (2016). Control and protect: Collaboration, carceral protection, and domestic sex trafficking in the United States. University of California Press.

O’Brien, E. (2013). Ideal victims in trafficking discourses: A critical analysis of the representations of trafficked persons. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 13(3), 275–291.

Pinto, M. (2022). Discursive alignment of trafficking, rights and crime control. International Journal of Law in Context, 19(2), 122–142.

Richardson, J. E. (2007). Analysing newspapers: An approach from critical discourse analysis. Palgrave Macmillan.

Sen, S., & Baba, Y. (2017). The human trafficking debate: Implications for social work practice. Social Work & Society.

Shelley, L. (2010). Human trafficking: A global perspective. Cambridge University Press.

van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 249–283.

van Leeuwen, T. (2008). Discourse and practice: New tools for critical discourse analysis. Oxford University Press.

Weitzer, R. (2014). New directions in research on human trafficking. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 653(1), 6–24.

Wodak, R. (2001). The discourse-historical approach. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (pp. 63–94). SAGE.

Wodak, R., & Reisigl, M. (2001). Discourse and discrimination: Rhetorics of racism and antisemitism. Routledge.

Zhang, S. X. (2012). Looking for a hidden population: Trafficking of migrant laborers in San Diego County. Crime, Law And Social Change, 58(5), 469–482.