Youth Civic Engagement in Moroccan Online News: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Representation and Social Meanings

Abstract

This study examines the representation of youth civic engagement in Moroccan online newspapers using van Leeuwen’s Social Actor Framework. Ten articles from major Moroccan news outlets were qualitatively analyzed to explore how youth are depicted across different civic domains. The findings show contrasting representational patterns: youth are personalized and portrayed as active agents in articles on entrepreneurship, environmental action, and volunteerism, yet they are depersonalized, anonymized, and collectivized in politically oriented reports. While human-interest stories foreground youth voices through direct quotations, political coverage replaces them with broad labels that obscure individual agency. These patterns suggest an oscillation between empowerment and marginalization narratives that may shape public perceptions of young people’s societal contributions. The study advances critical discussions on youth civic engagement by demonstrating how Moroccan media discursively construct youth identities and reinforce or challenge prevailing ideological assumptions.