Persistent Polarizing Effects of Persuasion: Experimental Evidence from Turkey

Exposing voters to non-state-provisioned information is presumed to counter incumbents’ efforts to keep voters uninformed in order to remain in power. In a new study, Ceren Baysan estimates the effect of randomized information campaigns on voter behavior and ideology in Turkey. Her research design allowed her to estimate heterogeneous effects of information campaigns, finding voter responses to the same campaigns increased political polarization and the effect persisted at least two years. Overall, she oncludes that reducing censorship can be polarizing and, because average measures mask both positive and negative treatment effects, the impact of information campaigns on civil society is underestimated.

As part of the Fall 2021 Human Capital Research Seminar, join Ceren Baysan, Visiting Assistant Professor in International Development with the Yale University Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and the Economic Growth Center, for discussion on the persistent and polarizing effects of persuasion, with experimental evidence from Turkey.