“Digital Battlefields is a timely and thought-provoking collection that demonstrates how contemporary conflicts are increasingly fought not only through military force, but also through narratives, platforms, images, and publics. Particularly impressive is the breadth of the collection and its ability to connect questions of digital mediation and technological change to the lived realities of conflict. This is a critical contribution to media, communication, and conflict studies.”
— Erin E. Cory, Senior Lecturer in Media & Communication Studies at Malmö University.
This book explores how and why particular media narratives prevail during war and conflict. Recent conflicts - from Ukraine and Israel to Sudan and Libya - have led to the rise of citizen and counter-media digital narratives that challenge established media narratives, often favouring specific actors in the conflict. This divergence from official narratives raises critical questions about which war narratives are adopted by media and audiences, how these narratives shape public support, and whether their influence stems from media manipulation, power dynamics, or perceived justice. The book prompts inquiry into the ethical standards of digital versus traditional media during wartime.

Dr. Ehab Galal is associate professor emeritus at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. His leading project is an interdisciplinary research project on ‘Mediatized Diaspora: Contentious Politics among Arab Media Users in Europe’. He has published and edited extensively in esteemed journals and is an author and co-editor of several books, including Middle Eastern Diasporas and Political Communication: New Approaches (2023) and Arab TV-Audiences: Negotiating Religion and Identity (2014).
Dr. Mostafa Shehata is assistant professor at Menoufia University and specializes in the interdisciplinary study of media, politics, and migration, with a particular focus on the Middle East. He has been involved in global research projects, such as ‘Mediatized Diaspora’ and ‘Global Risk Journalism Hub’ and contributed to leading journals such as The International Journal of Communication, Media and Communication, and Global Media and Communication. He has also co-edited multiple volumes, including Middle Eastern Diasporas and Political Communication: New Approaches.