An Analysis of the Use of Drones in War Journalism Through Baudrillard

Abstract

Today, it is possible to come across the use of drones by journalists in war journalism, which is seen as a negative news type. An example of this is the conflict between Palestine and Israel on October 7, 2023. Accordingly, the study aims to examine the images taken using drones in war journalism by considering Baudrillard's 'High Reality' sociology. The assumptions of the study are; Does drone technology, which is seen as a destructive innovation, have an effect on the news? If so, how does it affect the news? And does it cause the reality dimension of the news to be tampered with? The answers to the questions are explained based on Baudrillard's sociology. In the study, news photos regarding the war between Palestine and Israel obtained from the official website of Anadolu Agency were examined and the semiotic analysis method was used as the analysis method. As a result, in the visuals examined, the news headline and news photos are completely independent from each other and the subject is not included in the photos, mostly objects, black fog, gray dust clouds and black/white lighting are used, buildings turned into rubble with the effect of the bomb and the city plunged into darkness are displayed. If the conclusion is drawn by considering Baudrillard's sociology, it is possible to reach the conclusion that the visuals are not shown in a real understanding, the photo taken by the drone does not represent the real image, the images lose their feature of being an image and the realistic appearance of the image causes the loss of the illusionary power. In addition, since the illusion of reality and image illusion are seen in the visuals, it is possible to say that drone technology has an effect on the news as a virtual technology, and that its effect on the news is with the image image or illusion, while it is possible to conclude that the illusion of image causes the reality dimension of the news to be manipulated.