Framing the Citizenship Amendment Act: A Multimodal Analysis of Short-Video Discourse and the Construction of Belonging in Digital Spaces

Abstract

The rapid rise of digital media has led to a fundamental alteration of the contemporary
public discourse, and short-video platforms have emerged as critical sites hosting
reconstruction of complex socio-political issues within the digital sphere. This
study presents a framing analysis of short-video content related to the Citizenship
Amendment Act (CAA), analysing how diverse and competing interpretive frameworks
influence the audience’s understanding of the issue and the overall mediation of social
identity. This research is situated within a larger PhD project by the researcher, which
examined 15 prominent topics in India, including the focus of this study - CAA. The 10
analysed videos, a subset of total 100 videos, were selected because the topic (CAA)
serves as a strong case study for competing narratives and high emotional intensity,
thereby influencing identity construction of the audience.
Findings of the study reveal a highly fragmented discursive landscape. The Legal and
Constitutional Frame anchors the entire discourse in formal logic and institutional
validity of the act. On the other hand, the Humanitarian Frame sees how unique
platform characteristics of the short-video format, like personal storytelling and
facial expressions, are used to evoke empathy and highlight the impact on lived
experience of citizens. The Security Frame, conversely, puts an emphasis on need for
administrative regulation and national interest, while the Identity and Cultural Frame
focus on the collective memory and symbolic belonging aspects of the issue. The
study demonstrates that short-videos bring together visual, linguistic, and auditory
elements to create ‘hybrid’ frames, playing a crucial role in influencing social cohesion
and formation of a collective identity.