The Role of Language in the Media During the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

In 1994, around 800,000 people were killed in 100 days of genocide in Rwanda. The primary targets of the genocide were the minority Tutsi, but many moderate Hutus were killed as well. In order to facilitate mass participation in the genocide, the ruling elite created and promoted media tools to disseminate anti-Tutsi propaganda and convince ordinary Rwandans to take part in the killings. The media instruments used included the RTLM radio station and newspapers such as Kangura. Using excerpts from radio broadcasts, as well as scholarly works by journalists, broadcasters, and media experts, this paper explores the role of the media in the genocide, including the formation of the media outlets and the various types of language used in the media, (such as high context and low context language), in addition to explaining how this language was used to promote genocide, and making recommendations for the prevention of the use of hate media in future conflicts.