Media Bias in Sports Journalism: A Comparative Study of Qatar 2022 World Cup Coverage.

This study compares media bias in coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup by Western outlets—The Guardian and The New York Times—and Al Jazeera English, a Qatari-funded broadcaster. Using sentiment analysis and topic modeling on 393 articles published during the event, the research finds that Western media politicized the tournament by emphasizing human rights abuses, labor issues, and ethical critiques of Qatar as host, often employing negative emotional tones such as anger and fear. In contrast, Al Jazeera focused predominantly on sports-related themes, highlighting unity, cultural celebration, and Qatar's national achievements, while downplaying or defensively framing political controversies to support Qatar's soft power agenda. These divergent framing strategies reflect underlying geopolitical, ideological, and editorial priorities, illustrating how global media narratives around mega-sport events are shaped by distinct cultural and political contexts.