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Frontiers: The Persuasive Effect of Fox News: Noncompliance with Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Andrey Simonov

    (Columbia Business School, New York, New York 10027; Centre for Economic Policy Research, London EC1V 0DX, United Kingdom)

  • Szymon Sacher

    (Columbia Business School, New York, New York 10027)

  • Jean-Pierre Dubé

    (Columbia University, New York, New York 10027; National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138)

  • Shirsho Biswas

    (Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195)

Abstract

To what extent do mass media outlets influence viewers’ trust in scientific evidence and compliance with behavior recommended by scientific experts? Exploiting the U.S. lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, we analyze a large longitudinal database that combines daily stay-at-home behavior from approximately 8 million mobile phones and local viewership of cable news networks. Early in the pandemic, several of Fox News’ hosts downplayed the severity of the pandemic and the risks associated with the transmission of the virus. A combination of regression analysis and a natural experiment finds that a 10% increase in viewership of Fox News in a zip code causes a 0.76-percentage-point reduction in compliance with stay-at-home behavior. The results imply a media persuasion rate that is larger than typical advertising persuasion rates on consumer behavior. Similar analyses using viewership of MSNBC and CNN, which supported lockdown measures, were inconclusive but suggested a smaller, positive effect on compliance with social distancing regulations.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrey Simonov & Szymon Sacher & Jean-Pierre Dubé & Shirsho Biswas, 2022. "Frontiers: The Persuasive Effect of Fox News: Noncompliance with Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(2), pages 230-242, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:41:y:2022:i:2:p:230-242
    DOI: 10.1287/mksc.2021.1328
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