https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635220953656 Media, War & Conflict 1–19 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1750635220953656 journals.sagepub.com/home/mwc Mediating the opponent’s news: A study of inter-media citations in the Israeli– Palestinian conflict Yonatan Gonen , Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt and Zohar Kampf The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Abstract By using information sources from the opponent’s side, the media can introduce alternative viewpoints and broaden the discussion on the conflict. One important information source that has received little attention in research is the other side’s media reports. This study explores the practice of inter-media citations by analyzing Israeli and Palestinian news reports published over a span of 10 years. Based on a computerized quantitative analysis of 235,340 media texts, the authors show how the weaker (Palestinian) side relies more heavily on the media of the stronger side (Israel) than vice versa. During escalations or negotiations, the rate of use of inter-media citations is significantly higher than during routine periods. Furthermore, two main characteristics of a media source make it more likely to be cited: political agenda and accessibility. The authors discuss the factors shaping the phenomenon of inter-media citations and the implications of this practice for conflict coverage. Keywords automated content analysis, comparative analysis, conflict news, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, sources Introduction In conflicts between countries or ethnic groups, the decision of journalists concerning whom to rely on as a source of information may shape public understanding of the situ- ation (Brown, 2019; Fröhlich, 2019), while stirring up unrest or, alternatively, calming the tension between the opposing sides (Rutledge, 2017; Saleem and Hanan, 2014). Corresponding author: Yonatan Gonen, Department of Communication and Journalism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel. Email: yonatan.gonen@mail.huji.ac.il 953656MWC 0 0 10.1177/1750635220953656Media, War & ConflictGonen et al. research-article 2020 Article