IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/meanco/v11y2023i3p238-249.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Instaworthy? Examining the Effects of (Targeted) Civic Education Ads on Instagram

Author

Listed:
  • Emilia Errenst

    (Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Annelien Van Remoortere

    (Strategic Communication Group, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands)

  • Susan Vermeer

    (Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Sanne Kruikemeier

    (Strategic Communication Group, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The last few years have witnessed a growing societal and scholarly interest in the potential of online political microtargeting to affect election outcomes in favor of parties and candidates. It has often been rightly pointed out that political microtargeting can pose risks to electoral integrity in democracies. But can political microtargeting also benefit democratic functioning? Very little is known about the potential of political microtargeting to affect citizens’ attitudes towards politics and increase their civic participation. To address this paucity, this article presents a preregistered online experiment conducted in Germany among young adults ( N = 445), examining whether (targeted) civic education ads on Instagram increase political interest, efficacy, and civic participation. An innovative methodological approach to studying political microtargeting is deployed, exposing respondents to civic education ads in a mock Instagram feed, personalized in real-time based on individual preferences. We find no direct evidence of (targeted) civic education ads, leading us to believe that (targeted) ads do not unconditionally affect political interest, efficacy, or civic participation.

Suggested Citation

  • Emilia Errenst & Annelien Van Remoortere & Susan Vermeer & Sanne Kruikemeier, 2023. "Instaworthy? Examining the Effects of (Targeted) Civic Education Ads on Instagram," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(3), pages 238-249.
  • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:238-249
    DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6614
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6614
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/mac.v11i3.6614?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:238-249. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.