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Electoral Effects of Biased Media: Russian Television in Ukraine

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  • Leonid Peisakhin
  • Arturas Rozenas

Abstract

We use plausibly exogenous variation in the availability of the Russian analog television signal in Ukraine to study how a media source with a conspicuous political agenda impacts political behavior and attitudes. Using highly disaggregated election data and an original survey, we estimate that Russian television substantially increased average electoral support for parties and candidates with a “pro‐Russian” agenda in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. Evidence suggests that this effect is attributable to persuasion rather than differential mobilization. The effectiveness of biased media varied in a politically consequential way: Its impact was largest on voters with strong pro‐Russian priors but was less effective, and to some degree even counter‐effective, in persuading those with strong pro‐Western priors. Our finding suggests that exposing an already polarized society to a biased media source can result in even deeper polarization.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonid Peisakhin & Arturas Rozenas, 2018. "Electoral Effects of Biased Media: Russian Television in Ukraine," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(3), pages 535-550, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:62:y:2018:i:3:p:535-550
    DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12355
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    1. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Pham, Tho & Talavera, Oleksandr, 2021. "Social media, sentiment and public opinions: Evidence from #Brexit and #USElection," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    2. Alessandro Belmonte & Michael Rochlitz, 2018. "The Political Economy of Collective Memories: Evidence from Russian Politics," HSE Working papers WP BRP 59/PS/2018, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    3. Elodie Douarin, 2021. "Institutional Change in Transition: An Evolving Research Agenda," Springer Books, in: Elodie Douarin & Oleh Havrylyshyn (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Comparative Economics, edition 1, chapter 17, pages 429-457, Springer.
    4. Cantarella, Michele & Fraccaroli, Nicolò & Volpe, Roberto, 2023. "Does fake news affect voting behaviour?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    5. Grossman, Gene M. & Helpman, Elhanan, 2023. "Electoral competition with fake news," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Boussalis, Constantine & Dukalskis, Alexander & Gerschewski, Johannes, 2022. "Why It Matters What Autocrats Say: Assessing Competing Theories of Propaganda," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 70(3), pages 241-252.
    7. Lee, Jeoung Yul & Jiménez, Alfredo & Choi, Seong-jin & Choi, Yun Hyeong, 2022. "Ideological polarization and corporate lobbying activity: The contingent impact of corruption distance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 448-461.
    8. Jetter, Michael & Walker, Jay K., 2022. "News coverage and mass shootings in the US," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    9. Ashani Amarasinghe & Paul A. Raschky, 2022. "Competing for Attention – The Effect of Talk Radio on Elections and Political Polarization in the US," Monash Economics Working Papers 2022-13, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    10. Tähtinen, Tuuli, 2024. "When Facebook Is the Internet: The Role of Social Media in Ethnic Conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    11. Belmonte, Alessandro & Rochlitz, Michael, 2019. "The political economy of collective memories: Evidence from Russian politics," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 229-250.
    12. Christian Gläßel & Katrin Paula, 2020. "Sometimes Less Is More: Censorship, News Falsification, and Disapproval in 1989 East Germany," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(3), pages 682-698, July.
    13. Firoz Ahmed & Roland Hodler & Asad Islam, 2024. "Partisan Effects of Information Campaigns in Competitive Authoritarian Elections: Evidence from Bangladesh," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(660), pages 1303-1330.
    14. Scott Williamson & Mashail Malik, 2021. "Contesting narratives of repression: Experimental evidence from Sisi’s Egypt," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(5), pages 1018-1033, September.
    15. Artem Zakharchenko & Tomáš Peráček & Solomiia Fedushko & Yuriy Syerov & Olha Trach, 2021. "When Fact-Checking and ‘BBC Standards’ Are Helpless: ‘Fake Newsworthy Event’ Manipulation and the Reaction of the ‘High-Quality Media’ on It," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-13, January.

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