Framing Protest: A Stuart Hall Reading of CNN’s EndSARS Coverage

 In October 2020, the EndSARS protest became one of the biggest youth-led movements in Nigeria. It was mainly organized to speak out against police brutality, especially the unlawful acts of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). On the night of October 20, during a peaceful protest at Lekki Tollgate in Lagos, Nigerian soldiers allegedly opened fire on unarmed protesters. This incident was widely condemned and got international attention. One major media house that covered the event was CNN, in their investigative report. In this essay, I will apply Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model to analyze CNN’s report. I will examine the intended message CNN encoded into the video, and how different audiences—local Nigerian protesters, the government, and international viewers—may decode it differently.

   CNN’s video is a documentary-style investigation into the Lekki Tollgate shooting. The video uses real-time footage from Instagram Live, eyewitness accounts, forensic analysis of bullet shells, and satellite images. All these elements come together to tell one major story: that Nigerian security forces shot at peaceful protesters and tried to cover it up. This is the encoded message from CNN uses touching images—young people singing the national anthem, lights going out suddenly, and the sound of gunshots. These scenes create an emotional effect and help viewers see that the protesters were peaceful and the military’s actions were unjust. The narration is serious and detailed, and expert voices like forensic analysts and human rights activists are included to add credibility. By choosing to highlight these parts of the story, CNN encodes the message that Nigerian authorities committed human rights violations. They are positioning themselves as an objective and international media outlet giving voice to oppressed people. The story is constructed to make global audiences sympathize with the Nigerian youth and question the actions of the Nigerian government.

 The interpretation of CNN’s report on the Lekki Toll Gate shooting varies widely depending on the audience, and Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding theory helps explain these different readings: dominant, negotiated, and oppositional that highlight how audiences interpret media messages based on their cultural background, political beliefs, and personal experiences.

 For the international audience, particularly viewers from Western countries, the report is most likely received through a dominant or preferred reading. These viewers tend to trust international media outlets like CNN and accept their framing of the event without much skepticism. They see the incident as a tragic and unjust act of violence by the Nigerian government against peaceful protesters. The emotional appeal, the visuals, and CNN’s investigative tone strongly influence this group to align with the intended message—that innocent citizens were brutally attacked while demanding their rights.

 Among Nigerian youth and those who supported or participated in the #EndSARS protest, the reading is more negotiated. These viewers generally agree with CNN’s portrayal and are grateful for the international spotlight on the issue. However, their personal involvement gives them a deeper, more nuanced understanding. Some feel the report didn’t fully capture the emotional, psychological, and cultural impact the event had on them. Others might feel that CNN’s coverage came too late to make a real difference. Their agreement with the message is shaped and adjusted by their lived experiences and insider knowledge of the context, making this a negotiated reading.

 On the other hand, the Nigerian government and its loyal supporters offer an oppositional reading of CNN’s report. They completely reject the framing and even the factual accuracy of the coverage. Officials like Minister of Information Lai Mohammed have dismissed the report as “fake news” and accused CNN of spreading misinformation or pursuing a foreign agenda aimed at discrediting Nigeria. To them, the video is not a revelation of truth but a biased attack on national integrity. Their decoding process challenges every aspect of the report, from the evidence presented to the motivations behind its release.

  To properly understand how the CNN video is received, we have to consider the context of Nigeria at the time. There was already high tension in the country due to years of police brutality, government corruption, and economic hardship. Many young people had lost faith in the government, and social media became their main tool for expressing frustration. The government tried to control the narrative by first denying the incident, later admitting that soldiers were present but claiming they didn’t shoot, and finally saying that only blanks were fired. This back-and-forth led many Nigerians to believe the government was hiding the truth.

    In this situation, CNN’s video gained even more importance. For many, it became one of the few “reliable” sources of what happened that night. But the political atmosphere also made others reject it, especially those who felt that Western media often shows Africa in a bad light. The postcolonial context plays a big role here, where some Nigerians feel suspicious of foreign interference. This proves how social and political context affects how media messages are received. Even though CNN used facts and video evidence, not everyone believed or accepted the report the same way.

  In conclusion, CNN’s investigative video about the Lekki Tollgate shooting is a powerful example of how media can influence public opinion, especially during political crises. By applying Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model, we see that even though CNN encoded a message of government violence and youth bravery, different audiences decoded it in different ways: International audiences mostly accepted the message, Nigerian youth supported it but added personal meaning, while the government rejected it completely.

   NThis shows that media is not just about sending messages—it’s also about how people receive and interpret those messages based on their culture, politics, and personal experience.