2️⃣ The Experiment
We tested three types of short videos promoting democracy:
🎥 1. General civic rights
🎥 2. Democracy’s role in fighting terrorism
🎥 3. A Burkina Faso-specific version
A placebo group watched a space exploration video.
We tested three types of short videos promoting democracy:
🎥 1. General civic rights
🎥 2. Democracy’s role in fighting terrorism
🎥 3. A Burkina Faso-specific version
A placebo group watched a space exploration video.
Comments
Videos emphasizing democracy’s general benefits in combating terrorism were most effective!
🚀 They increased positive perceptions of democracy’s ability to manage security threats by 4.9 percentage points.
Surprisingly, the Burkina Faso-specific video had little impact. Why?
📌 People exposed to chronic terrorism may develop coping mechanisms like denial or avoidance.
💡 Universal democracy messages may work better than locally tailored ones in high-conflict areas.
💡 Online ads are a cost-effective way to reach large audiences without security risks.
✅ Use broad, universal pro-democracy messaging.
✅ Avoid hyper-localized content that may trigger defensive reactions.
✅ Leverage social media ads for mass outreach.
🔗 Read the full paper here: https://osf.io/b4hju_v1