Same news, different lens: How Nigerian and foreign media framed the US invasion threat against Nigeria

This study examines how international and Nigerian domestic media framed the US president’s threat of military action in response to alleged mass killings of Christians in Nigeria. Using a comparative content analysis of 155 news stories published by foreign and domestic media outlets, the study examines dominant frames, tonal orientation, and sourcing patterns to identify points of convergence and divergence in coverage. The findings show statistically significant differences between foreign and domestic reporting. Foreign media largely framed the issue through a humanitarian lens and adopted a predominantly neutral tone, while domestic media more frequently emphasised economic and imperial interpretations and employed a more evaluative tone. The analysis further reveals that framing varied significantly by source type, with humanitarian and geopolitical frames closely associated with reliance on US government officials and international actors, and economic or imperial frames more strongly linked to experts, critics, and domestic political voices.