Does media influence voting behaviour? This research offers some insights

Increasing access to political information through the mass media may enable citizens to monitor incumbents' behaviour, and use this information in voting decisions.

Business Standard : The 2019 Lok Sabha elections are on track to be the costliest general election by advertising spends--spending by political parties is projected to surge 73% above the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Amid a wave of ‘mediatisation’ of Indian politics, the media’s ability to set political agendas has expanded, and elections have been transformed into an image contest between prominent personalities.

As media and politics grow ever more intertwined, a question arises: in what way does media exposure impact voting behaviours and opinions? The spike in circulation of unverifiable information--or fake news--has been a major cause for concern during the current elections. However, there are several initiatives pushing for change. The Election Commission of India recently launched an app to encourage voter mobilisation. Fact-checking websites such as Alt News and IndiaSpend’s FactChecker.in attempt to debunk misinformation. Similarly, other platforms such as Jaano India and Mumbai Votes aim to equip citizens with relevant information on government policies and candidates’ performance.

However, the effectiveness of these programmes, and the impact of various media on voter behaviour in India, have not been rigorously analysed. An analysis of randomised evaluations conducted across the world allows some insights into the role of the media in improving the quality of political participation. It shows that it is indeed possible to deliver information through the media in a way that positively impacts citizen engagement in the democratic process, and that the magnitude and duration of impact varies by content type and delivery mechanism.

Increasing political knowledge through print media

Increasing access to political information through the mass media may enable citizens to monitor incumbents’ behaviour, and use this information in voting decisions.

In 2005-2006, leading up to state-wide elections for governor in the state of Virginia in the United States, researchers affiliated with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) studied how free subscriptions to a newspaper with either liberal or conservative leanings affected voters’ political knowledge and opinions.

They found that receiving either paper had no effect on voters’ political knowledge and stated attitudes towards news events in general. However, regardless of the political slant of the newspapers, they resulted in an overall 7.2-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of voting for the Democratic (liberal-leaning) candidate. The effects were similar for both liberal and conservative newspapers.