ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 12(09), 1084-1095 1084 Journal Homepage: -www.journalijar.com Article DOI:10.21474/IJAR01/19542 DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/19542 RESEARCH ARTICLE Media Representation of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region during the Referendum: A Linguistic Analysis Mahmood Othman Mahmood Faculty of Humanities, HSE University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Master of Applied Linguistics and Text Analytics. Police Officer, Criminal Evidence Directorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Manuscript Info Abstract ……………………. ……………………………………………………………… Manuscript History Received: 28 July 2024 Final Accepted: 30 August 2024 Published: September 2024 Key words:- Media Representation, Kurdistan Referendum, Data Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis This study conducted a linguistic analysis of the media representation of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region during the Kurdistan Referendum on September 25, 2017. The research aimed to bridge two methodologies: corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis. By examining how the media portrayed the Iraqi Kurdistan Region during the referendum, this study shed light on the linguistic dimensions of media coverage and the issues surrounding the referendum. Data were collected from six different news sites worldwide and analysed using corpus tools through AntConc. The findings showed that Western media outlets in the United Kingdom and the United States, including BBC News, CNN, Fox News, and Sky News, represented the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Referendum negatively. In contrast, Rudaw, a local media channel in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, provided a completely positive portrayal, while Al Jazeera maintained an unbiased attitude. Copyright, IJAR, 2024,. All rights reserved. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Introduction:- Background of the Study In today's technological age, the media is a potent weapon for depicting, representing, and shaping perceptions toward a particular viewpoint. In today's environment, the media has a major influence on people and their cognitive processes. As a result, in the last few decades, this region has sparked a lot of interest in literature and research. The media's emphasis on diverse features of any group of people affects the public's opinion of them and strengthens the link between concerns of ethnic existence, race, and political identity (Bucy & Holbert, 2013). Today, mass media influence global public opinion by publishing and conveying news and information. It is information and communication that draws the attention of today's generation towards predetermined goals and creates a media image of the surrounding world. The media, including written, visual, and audio, publish millions of news stories about various events around the world every day, and news releases are one of the most important tasks of mass communication devices, which make them a powerful tool in public opinion and direction to attitudes. Lippmann (1922) in his book “public opinion” focuses on mass communication in describing the world around us. In Lippmann's opinion for getting information on various relevant topics, characters and situations that are related, we feel positively or negatively about them, we depend on the media. We get a lot of information from the surrounding world from the media and news sites. American satirist Will Rogers has rightly pointed out the importance of the media, saying inone of his satirical materials that all I know is just what I read in the newspapers (Rogers, 1923). Corresponding Author:-Mahmood Othman Mahmood Address:-Faculty of Humanities, HSE University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Master of Applied Linguistics and Text Analytics. Police Officer, Criminal Evidence Directorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq